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Toils and travails of shoal dwellers

A prize-winning documentary of Dill-Reaz focuses on poverty
12 October 2004, 18:00 PM
LIFESTYLE
By Fayza Haq
12 October 2004, 18:00 PM
A still from the film Sand and Water
Shaheen Dill-Reaz, who presented his ORB documentary prize-winning film at the Goethe Institut recently, speaking on his film,Sand and Water(orJibon Joley Biley), said that it is about the perseverance, travails and toils of the shoal dwellers along the River Jamuna. This nostalgic film is inspired by myths and prejudices that prevail along the mainland and the shoal. The purpose of the film, Dill-Reaz said, was to eventually discover his own identity: he was motivated to making the documentary by witnessing the unflagging struggle of sand-bank dwellers. He said that the storyline consisted of the repeated destruction of the shoal, which was washed out by the constant lashing of the wild Jamuna. These places, the director and cinematographer says, were once termed the 'deadly paradise' for they contained untold happiness amidst constant danger of the wild waterway.

Dill-Reaz said that the people he focused on were very co-operative. He elaborated that the NGO Jamuna Char Development Project (JCDP) gave the necessary logistic support. He said that the documentary was based on his teacher's work in Berlin and that a German NGO worker, Hanna Schmuk was involved in the project. The crew, sound and camera assistance were supplied from Bangladesh and Germany, he added.

Asked to give details of the participants of the film, Dill-Reaz explained that the people focused on were from Gabshara Union, situated between Bhuapoor and Sirajganj, in the middle of the Jamuna river bed. These include farmers who try to eke out a living during the monsoon season and cultivate in winter. When evil times fall on the residents of the shoal, they take to fishing, even though it is not their profession. These people, Dill-Reaz said, are here today and gone tomorrow: they live hand to mouth and day by day.

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Taking on how he went into filmmaking, Dill-Reaz said that he transferred his earlier passion for filmmaking into his present profession. He elaborated that he did not differentiate between feature and documentary film: his film Sand and Water, he insisted could be seen as both a feature and film and documentary. His future endeavour, he added, will be a feature film.

Naming the individuals who had inspired him, the filmmaker and cinematographer said that this included individuals from the fields of literature and fine arts like Jibonananda Das, Jamini Rai and Akhtaruzzman. He added that he got his encouragement from teachers and friends at home and overseas. Asked to comment on filmmakers from Bangladesh like Manzar-e-Haseen, Tanvir Mukammal and Morshed he said that he admired them enormously.

Giving his comment on the essentials of a good documentary, Dill-Reaz said that like all creative work they must contain passion and honesty.

Explaining the ORB documentary, he said that it is a yearly international award for filmmakers in which 200 films participate, and that his Sand and Water got a first prize in this competition in 2002. The other prizes won by the film include three other first and Special Awards from Barcelona, Tel Aviv and Kathmandu.