Director's Guild has protested against the refusal of censor clearance for director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's 'Shanibar Bikkel' (‘Saturday Afternoon’). On Sunday Aug 28, the protest was announced in a statement by the Executive Council of the Directors Guild.
The film ‘Saturday Afternoon’ has not been getting censor clearance for more than 3 years, it has been stuck on the censor board which is the biggest obstacle to free speech, the statement said. It is not clear to us why the censor board is not giving censor clearance to this film.
It is reported that director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki's is one of the few directors who can enlighten an almost destroyed cinema industry. He is an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, who have been able to introduce Bengali films in the international arena.
According to the statement, almost all films of director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki are screened prominently, in international film festivals. Most of his project have won international awards, which is a matter of pride for Bangladesh.
In 2019, 'Saturday Afternoon' was awarded at the 41st Moscow International Film Festival with the Russian Federation of Film Critics Jury Award and the Kommersant Award among other festivals. In addition, 'Saturday Afternoon' was featured in the official selection of many other festivals, including Busan and Sydney.
The Director's Guild of Bangladesh said, we and Bangladeshi audience want to watch the film 'Saturday Afternoon' in the big screens. I am protesting against not giving the censor clearance of 'Saturday Afternoon' to continue the progress of Bengali cinema, the film needs to get the clearance certificate. Besides, I have also demand to introduce sensor gradation system instead of the current sensor law.
