Mostofa Sarwar Farooki’s “Saturday Afternoon,” will release the film in the U.S. and Canada through Reliance Entertainment.
The Bengali-and-English-language film takes its cue from the brutal terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, which took place on a quiet Saturday afternoon and left more than 20 people dead. It had considerable festival play, winning awards at Fukuoka, Moscow and Vesoul.
The film was initially banned and had finally been cleared for release in January after a four year struggle with the Bangladesh Film Censor Board. However Bangladesh’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting appears to have taken a U turn and the situation remains fluid. Consequently, the film will open in the U.S. and Canada on March 10 before its Bangladesh release. It will also be released in other countries in subsequent months.
In its review, The Hollywood Reporter called the film a “breathless narrative” while The New York Times recognised the film’s “tense moments of human struggle”. Critics all over the world heaped praise on the film. Film Inquiry wrote, “Farooki’s candid treatment of events, alongside his technically impressive recreation of it, transcends any interpretations of exploitation or notions of “cheap” drama, instead he has formed a powerful statement that practically speaks for itself.” And Easternkicks wrote “A harrowing, uncompromising anatomy of a real-life terror attack tautly dramatized into a single-take thriller.”
The film has also received critical acclaim and praise from several film festivals, including the Russian Federation of Film Critics Jury Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival in April 2019, as well as the Kommersant Jury Prize at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2019.
More accolades have added to the film’s success, including the Prix du Jury Netpac, 26th Vesoul IFFAC, 2020; Prix du Jury Lycéen, 26th Vesoul IFFAC, 2020; Winner, City of Kumamoto Prize, Fukuoka International Film Festival 2021; Official Selection, Sydney International Film Festival, June 2019; In Competition, Munich International Film Festival, July 2019; LIFF, London, July 2019; Official Selection, Hongkong Asain Film Festival, In Competition, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Busan International Film Festival, October 2019, Official Selection, IFFSA Toronto 2022.
Farooki is Bangladesh’s best-known filmmaker internationally. His films have represented Bangladesh at the Oscars three times.
The international ensemble cast of “Saturday Afternoon” comprises Bangladesh’s Nusrat Imrose Tisha (“Holud Bani”), Palestine’s Eyad Hourani (“Baghdad Central”) and India’s Parambrata Chatterjee (“Aranyak”).
