Travellers and Magicians spellbound the jury board

Prize winners of the film festival seen with the guests and jury board members

'The bitter and the sweet of temporary things'--with this tag, Khyentse Norbu's multi-layered and subtle film Travellers and Magicians won the highest accolades at the 2nd International Film Festival Bangladesh. The film won the Standard Chartered Best Film Award and the Netpac Jury Award for its competence in script portraying the intimate link between geography of Bhutan and the story, and cinematic language that turns it into a well-crafted film.

The first part of the 2nd International Film Festival Bangladesh was ended with the award giving ceremony on November 9 at the Shaheed Zia Auditorium of National Museum. The festival will now run in different divisional cities till December 16. Information Minister M Shamsul Islam and Bangladesh CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Osman Morad were present at the ceremony and awarded the winners. The chairman of the festival MM Rezaul Karim presided over the programme. Chairman of International Federation of Film Societies (IFFS) Jury Prasanna Vithanage and Chairman of Netpac Jury Aijaz Gul also spoke at the occasion.

The Ambassador of Bhutan received the award on behalf of Khyentse Norbu, the director of the film Travellers and Magicians and said, 'It is a great honour to receive the laurels of Best Film. Even I didn't know that films of Bhutan are so well!'

Toukir Ahmed's film depicting the Liberation War through the quest for survival of a group of ordinary people, Joyjatra continues its joyous venture by bagging the Standard Chartered Special Mention Award. The story is about a group of affected people from all walks of life and religions centring on childless Haowa, Jashimuddin with his pregnant wife, Kashem with his injured wife, Baidhon, Ramkrishna, Rojorani, Pocha, Tarofder, and Johnson's journey with hunger, thirsty and death thread in Ali's boat. While taking the crest accompanied with his wife and the protagonist of the movie Bipasha, Toukir said, 'I hope I'll now get producers for such kind of films in future.'

A storyteller-turned-filmmaker from Assam, Manzu Borah's Laaj (Shame) won the jury's commendation for her realistic portrait of a girl's adolescence amidst poverty-stricken conditions. While receiving the crest Borah said, 'The urge which made me to make this film is a simple observation: in this present world, poor people are getting poorer and rich people are getting richer day by day.' Actress Srilekha Mukherjee, who plays the main character in the film, was also present on the occasion.

Bachelor, another Bangladeshi popular film directed by Mostofa Sarwar Farooqi and produced by Faridur Reza Sagar, won accolades of Audience Award 2004 adjudged by the popular votes of the viewers at the festival.

At the end of the prize-giving ceremony a 60-feet long canvas signed by the Bangladeshi child audience who came to watch the movies of the Children's Showcase was handed over to MM Rezaul Karim. After the ceremony Abu Sayeed's Shangkhonad was screened.