'Rigon: Tale of a Father' to start shooting in Italy

Father Marino Rigon was also known as the 'Friend of Bengalis', as he contributed a major part of his life towards Bangladesh. With his unconditional care and support during the 1971 Liberation War, he sheltered and cared for the injured. He was honoured as a freedom fighter of the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War for his contributions during the war.

A film on the life of Father Marino Rigon, previously titled The Father – An Untold Story has been renamed as Rigon: Tale of a Father. The film's shooting will start in Italy by the end of this year, as announced in a press conference held at Lakeshore, Gulshan recently. It is a joint venture of Bangladesh and Italy, scripted by Dr Shahaduzzaman and directed by Hemanta Sadeeq.

Minister for Liberation War Affairs of Bangladesh A K M Mozammel Haque and Ambassador of Italy to Bangladesh H E Enrico Nunziata, Dr Nomita Halder NDC and Executive producer from Bangladesh Liza Asma Akter attended the press conference, among others.

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman with Father Rigon (2-R).

The meeting was held online, with the executive producer of the film from Italy Rocco Cosentino, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Italy, Abdus Sobhan Sikder from Venice, Italy, among others.

"In recent times, a few films used similar titles to our previous one," shares Sadeeq. "As it is a biopic, we felt that it would be more appropriate if we keep Father Marino Rigon's name in the title."

Sadeeq also said that he will be flying to Italy next month to have a grooming session with the shortlisted cast members from Italy.

Father Marino Rigon was conferred honourary citizenship of Bangladesh by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for his tireless and exemplary contributions to society, especially in the country, in 2009.