The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg is a journey around the world through the medium of film – it is the gathering of the best filmmakers from around the world. This year, at the 65th edition of the festival, ‘Aynabaji’ has been making quite a stir leading up to it following its packed screening. Present at the screening of the film were the producer of Aynabaji Ziauddin Adil, CFO of Top of Mind group Salma Adil, Director Amitabh Reza and Story writer Gausul Alom Shaon. Selected in the coveted International Newcomer Discoveries of the festival, among only ten other films, from over 800 candidates from around the world, ‘Aynabaji’ has been extolled for its Shakespearean “All the world’s a stage” and Brechtian-Marxist dialectic by the selection committee. Particular inspiration has been noted from Bertolt Brecht play Man Equals Man. Also particularly noted has been the film’s great storytelling virtuosity and sophisticated editing refinement. ‘Aynabaji’ marks the third time that a Bangladeshi film has been screened in the festival.
Mannheim-Heidelberg International Film Festival, often shortened to IFFMH, is an annual film festival held jointly by the cities of Mannheim and Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. The festival was established in 1952. The International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg is aimed at industry professionals as well as cinema enthusiasts, with over 500 professional participants and about 60,000 visitors each year.
Previously the festival has featured films by now-famous directors such as Jim Jarmusch, Thomas Vinterberg, Bryan Singer, Atom Egoyan, François Truffaut, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Lars von Trier or Rahmin Bahrani were first introduced to an international public at the festival.
The film’s director, Amitabh Reza Chowdhury said, “Aynabaji continues to soar higher than anyone’s expectations – what started as a vision from a small group of people has now become a vehicle for the hopes and dreams of an entire country. It is great to see your vision transformed into a film, and then transformed into something enjoyed by millions from around the world. This nod from International Film Festival Mannheim-Heidelberg is a grand recognition of this vision.”
Ziauddin Adil commented, “The explosion that is Aynabaji has both been a surprise and a welcome recognition – while we knew all along that we were working on something truly great, the way people have made this movie their own and expressed their love for it is more than we ever expected. This latest recognition from one of the oldest and biggest film festivals in the world solidifies Aynabaji’s position as a film that has disrupted the landscape of our local film industry for good.”