Shafiur Rahman and Bablu Sheikh are organising the Ummid 2010 Photo Competition along with Al-Falah Bangladesh. The competition is to mark the 2nd anniversary of a landmark court judgement which brought statelessness to an end for the Urdu-speaking people of Bangladesh. The issue was the subject of a an award-winning documentary, Swapnabhumi, co-produced by Shafiur. Visit the web site here. The competition will refocus attention on the problems that still remain and the difficulties of building an inclusive society.

We were in wintry Paris for three days -  running around and filming some very interesting art and artists. From Les Lilas to Montbrieux to Vitry-sur-Seine we were welcomed like old friends and allowed to film and photograph to our hearts’ content. I will post up some snippets of interviews from Blek le Rat, Christian Guemy and Dale Grimshaw very shortly. The Brick Lane project, which is still without a title (!), aims to look at art, protest and social consciousness. These three individuals gave fascinating interviews concerning those issues. We also filmed Anwar Hossain, cinematographer and photographer, at his home preparing to depart from Paris and more… Thanks to Constance Cardon of the  Ile-de-France Film Commission for all the last minute assistance she rendered.

(pic by Dorota. Found..on the streets).

Swapnabhumi, which won 2nd prize in Kathmandu at Film South Asia ‘09,  is part of the Travelling Film South Asia programme.

Here is the press release:

We are glad to announce the Travelling Film South Asia 2010 – TFSA’10 Dhaka with 12 Outstanding Documentaries from Southasia. These films have been selected from the 35 films screened in the competitive section of Film South Asia ’09, the seventh edition of the festival of Southasian documentaries held in Kathmandu from 17-20 October 2009. The selection has been carried out in consultation with FSA ’09’s three-member jury, chaired by Chennai-based cultural critic Sadanand Menon.

There is a Facebook group here.