Chitra Nadir Parey invited to film festival in Spain

Momotazuddin Ahmed and Rawshan Jamil in the film

The theme of this year's festival is 'Partition (1947)'. The films participating at the festival are based on the Partition, or how the phenomenon affected lives of the masses in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

Chitra Nadir Parey narrates the story of two families: one Muslim and the other Hindu. They are neighbours in the quiet small town, Narail. The apparent harmony among the community is disrupted by riots spurred by the Partition in 1947. Extortion and maltreatment of the minorities under the Pakistani rule of the '50s and '60s drive many families to migrate to India. But Shashikanto along with his family does not want to leave their land. The film follows the tragic fate of Shashikanto's family.

Chitra Nadir Parey received seven National Awards in 1999, including Best Director, Best Feature Film and Best Actress. The film has also been screened at film festivals in London, Oslo, Singapore, Delhi, Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram) and Calcutta (Kolkata).

Tanvir Mukammel has been asked to speak at a discussion on 'Partition' at the film festival. Noted actor Kabori Sarwar has been invited as a member of the jury board at the festival. Among others, lyricist Gulzar (India), director MS Sathyu (India) and filmmaker Sabiha Sumar (Pakistan) are expected to attend the festival.

The festival will continue till May 23.