Farooki's 'Saturday Afternoon' Awarded in Japan

Despite not getting censor clearance in Bangladesh, popular director Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s movie ‘Saturday Afternoon’ (শনিবার বিকেল) is making waves in various film festivals around the world. Not only that, they are winning one prize after another.

In that series, the popular movie ‘Saturday Afternoon’ has won the ‘Kumamoto City Award’ at the 30th Fukuoka International Film Festival in Japan. The director himself has confirmed this information in a Facebook status.

Acclaimed Bangla movie director Farooki writes, “Saturday Afternoon (শনিবার বিকেল) has just won Kumamoto City Award from Fukuoka International Film Festival! I want to take this opportunity to thank Fukuoka for selecting our film alongside some beautiful films!”

He added: “I also want to thank Fukuoka audience who have voted for our film. Lastly, thanks to my team of cast and crew who worked incredibly hard to make this film a reality! I only can hope Bangladeshi audience gets to see the film!”

This year’s 30th Fukuoka International Film Festival in Japan has started on September 20 and will continue till September 24. Earlier, Farooki’s this film won the Netpack Jury Prize in France and the High School Jury Award, two independent jury awards at the Moscow Film Festival. The film was also screened at the Sydney and Munich Film Festivals.

The thriller film ‘Saturday Afternoon’ was inspired by the attack at Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka on July 1, 2016. The film stars Zahid Hasan, Nusrat Imroz Tisha, Parambrata Chatterjee of India, Iyad Hurani of Iran and many more. The film is a joint production of Bangladesh, India, and Germany.