Noted filmmaker Azizur Rahman and veteran cine-journalist Mustafa Jabbar have been selected for this year’s Fazlul Haque Smrity Award (Fazlul Haque Memorial Award 2016). Today, on the occasion of Fazlul Huque’s death anniversary, Fazlul Huque Smrity Committee will hand over the awards to the recipients at a ceremony at Hotel Westin in the capital. Noted filmmaker Azizur Rahman, widely renowned for his film ‘Chhutir Ghonta’, will be awarded with the ‘Fazlul Haque Smrity Award 2016’ for his immense contribution to the film industry. On the other hand, veteran cine journalist Mustafa Jabbar has been selected for the category of film journalism for the year 2016.
 The award winners will receive a certificate and a crest along with Tk 25,000 each as prizes. In memory of Fazlul Haque, a documentary titled ‘Sammukh Jatri Fazlul Haque’ directed by Shahidul Haque Sachchu will be screened at the event before the award ceremony.
Fazlul Huque was the pioneer of cine-journalism in Bangladesh, and was the editor and publisher of the first cinema-based Bangladeshi newspaper ‘Cinema’. The newspaper was first published from Bogra in 1950, and later shifted to Dhaka. The last issue of the newspaper published in 1959. He directed the county’s first children’s film titled ‘President’, which was highly appreciated by all and gave him considerable popularity.
Previously, the awards were conferred on Masud Parvez—known as Sohel Rana, Fazal Shahabuddin, Chashi Nazrul Islam, Humayun Ahmed, Ahmed Zaman Chowdhury, Saidul Anam Tutul, Rafiquzzaman, Shubhas Dutt, Hiren Dey, Abdur Rahman and Golam Rabbani Biplob, Syed Shamsul Huq and Amzad Hossain.