Two short films by young people from Cox’s Bazar were screened at a special event in Dhaka, bringing the coastal district’s stories to an audience of diplomats and international representatives.
The films, Prohor and Shopnojoyi, directed by young filmmakers Nadia Hossain and Saju Barua, were screened at the Canada Club in Baridhara on Wednesday as part of the initiative ‘Weaving Stories of Peace Through Camera’.
Witness Foundation organised the special screening with support from the Canadian High Commission in Bangladesh.
The initiative, implemented with young people from Cox’s Bazar, uses filmmaking to highlight local social challenges, peace, tolerance and people’s struggles.
The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) supported the project. Of 193 applications, 25 young people—11 women and 14 men—were selected to participate.
During the training, the participants learned about filmmaking, storytelling, leadership and participatory governance. Under mentors’ guidance, they later developed their own scripts and produced the two films.
Prohor explores the impact of violence triggered by the spread of misinformation and rumours in society.
Shopnojoyi, meanwhile, portrays the struggles of a coastal family facing displacement, poverty and the risk of child marriage amid the impacts of climate change.
Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Ajit Singh and Witness Foundation Executive Director Parvez Siddiqui delivered welcome remarks at the event.
Foundation Chairperson Sheila Hafiza said initiatives of this kind could play an important role in building a peaceful and participatory society by harnessing young people’s creativity and leadership.
Representatives from the United Nations and various national and international organisations took part in a discussion moderated by Marcus Davis, political counsellor at the Canadian High Commission.
After the screening, High Commissioner Ajit Singh praised the two films made by the young filmmakers.
He said Shopnojoyi had particularly moved him and would stay with him for a long time.
Witness Foundation, formerly known as Films for Peace Foundation, has been working on youth empowerment, peacebuilding and social cohesion and conducting various programmes to develop young leadership across Bangladesh.
Stories of everyday life in Cox’s Bazar, captured through the cameras of local young people, have now reached an international audience in the capital.
Cox’s Bazar Life Report
Photo: Courtesy
