At Screen Southasia, we host monthly online screenings of compelling documentaries from the region, including Nepal, India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Tibet, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka. We present a diverse range of films, both classic and new, that showcase the unique cultures, histories and perspectives of Southasia. Screen Southasia is a partnership between Himal Southasian and Film Southasia. For updates on future screenings and Q&A sessions, sign up here.
For our latest Screen Southasia Q and A session, recorded on 3 July 2023, we speak with Shaheen Dill-Riaz, director of the documentary film 'Sand and Water' – which follows the lives and experiences of natives of Char Islands in Bangladesh.
Film synopsis: The middle section of the Jamuna, one of the three main rivers in Bangladesh, is called 'the deadly paradise'. This part of northern Bangladesh is home of the Gabshara Union, a small district comprising a group of tiny islands. Sand and Water shows how the people of these islands live in the most extreme natural conditions and cope with the 'moods' of Jamuna, which also provides them with their livelihood and fertile islands. Dill-Riaz describes this fragile world from a personal point of view using poetic images.