Bangladeshi director Rubaiyat Hossain’s feature film ‘Under Construction’ won the Jury Prize  at the Festival du Film d’Asie du Sud (FFAST, 2016) in Paris, France on October 25.
The award was announced in the closing ceremony at Reflet Médicis Cinéma in Paris in the presence of the director Rubaiyat Hossain and the lead actress Shahana Goswami. Also was present Paris-based eminent Bangladeshi artist Shahabuddin Ahmed, who was a member of the jury.
Reacting to the laurels, an elated Rubaiyat said, “I am honoured and overwhelmed that ‘Under Construction’ won the award tonight.” She also thanked the festival committee for having the film in the competition as well as the jury members and the Paris audience. She also mentioned,  “It is a great honour that renowned Bangladeshi painter Shahbuddin Ahmed was part of the jury and presented the award to us. It was great to see a lot of women in the audience and exciting discussion after the screenings. Now we are looking forward to the theatrical release of ‘Under Construction’ in France with the French sales agent Contre-courants.
FFAST, the only South Asian film festival in France focuses on one South Asian country each year and this year’s focus was on Bangladesh by showcasing a selection of contemporary Bangladeshi cinema that included Tareque Masud’s ‘Matir Moyna’, Rubaiyat Hossain’s ‘Meherjaan’, Mostafa Sarwar Farooki’s ‘Television’ and Abu Shahed Emon’s ‘Jalaler Golpo’.