''Moshari'' () is a 2022

Bangladeshi Bangladeshis ( bn, বাংলাদেশী ) are the citizens of Bangladesh, a South Asian country centered on the transnational historical region of Bengal along the eponymous bay. Bangladeshi citizenship was formed in 1971, when the ...

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

directed by

Nuhash Humayun Nuhash Humayun ( bn, নুহাশ হুমায়ূন) is a Bangladeshi film director and screenwriter. His works include ''Moshari'', ''Pett Kata Shaw'', ''Sincerely Yours, Dhaka''. His theatrical debut ''Sincerely Yours, Dhaka'' had it ...

and produced by Little Big Films. Set in a fictitious world in the future, the film features

Sunerah Binte Kamal Sunerah Binte Kamal (Bengali: সুনেরাহ বিনতে কামাল) is a Bangladeshi model, actress, and dancer. She won National Film Award for Best Actress for her debut film '' No Dorai'' (2019). Career Sunerah made her debut ...

, Nairah Onora Saif and Moyed Bhuiyan in lead roles.

Synopsis

This short film depicts a futuristic world where monsters are rampant and mankind has disappeared from all parts of the world except

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

. In that city, two sisters Apu and Ayra spend their nights inside a mosquito net to protect themselves from monsters. One night Ayra comes out of the mosquito net and is attacked by a monster. Her sister Apu comes forward to save her.

Cast

as Apu * Nairah Onora Saif as Ayra * Moyed Bhuiyan

Production

Nuhash Humayun produced the film in 2019 to be sent to film festivals. This is the debut film of Nairah Onora Saif, who is the daughter of

Shila Ahmed Shila Ahmed (Bengali: শিলা আহমেদ) is a Bangladeshi television and film actress. She won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Child Artist Award for her performance in ''Aguner Poroshmoni'' (1994). Early life and career Ahme ...

, sister of Nuhash. In November 2022,

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his film and television work in the comedy and horror genres. Peele's breakout role came in 2003, when he was hired as a cast membe ...

and

Riz Ahmed Rizwan Ahmed (; ; born ) is a British actor and rapper. As an actor, he has won an Emmy Award and has received nominations for a Golden Globe and three British Independent Film Awards, and as a rapper he has won an Academy Award for the short ...

joined as executive producers of the film on the behalf of

Monkeypaw Productions Monkeypaw Productions is an American production company founded by Jordan Peele in 2012. The company is known for producing horror films, such as ''Get Out'', '' Us'', '' Candyman'', '' Nope'' and ''Wendell & Wild.'' In 2019, the company signe ...

Release

The film had its release on 13 March 2022 at

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

. On 15 October, 2022, ''Moshari'' was made available via

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

. It was also screened at

Marché du Film The ''Marché du Film'' (french for "Film Market") is one of the largest film markets in the world.Marc ...

, Indie Meme Film festival,

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a nonprofit organization devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of Indian cinema

and

Sitges Film Festival The Sitges Film Festival ( ca, Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, links=no) is an annual film festival held in Sitges, Spain, specialized in fantasy and horror films, of which it is considered one of the world's foremost in ...

in the same year.

Reception

Critical response

According to Fatin Hamama of '' The Daily Star'', the film is the perfect representation of a society where women become victims of the patriarchy. Remnant Glimpses wrote, "As much as ''Moshari'' looks like a great horror movie, understanding its underlying message will also find relevance to today's society. Which makes the content even more enjoyable". Panos Kotzathanasis of Asianmoviepulse.com thinks that the director wanted to show real issues such as

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

through metaphors. Through the line "

I can't breathe "I can't breathe" is a slogan associated with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The phrase originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by a New York C ...

" in the film, the filmmaker accuses the authorities of being responsible for these issues. Siffat Bin Ayub of ''

The Business Standard ''The Business Standard'' is a Bangladeshi daily newspaper published in English and Bengali. The newspaper was founded by The Horizon Media and Publication Ltd and is based in Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), form ...

'' praised the filmmaking. Calling it "the most visually striking short in Bangladesh", T. Aumia Khundkar of ''

Ice Today ''ICE Today'' is a Bangladeshi lifestyle magazine focusing on contemporary culture and society in the country. The magazine has sections dedicated to business, fashion, health, women, music, travel and cuisine. History and profile ''ICE Today'' ...

'' also praised the film. However, according to Siam Raihan of ''The Business Post'', the film couldn’t evoke a sense of horror in the audiences. He criticised what he described as its mediocre screenplay and poor dialogue delivery.

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, id=17499740 2022 short films 2022 films 2020s Bengali-language films Bengali-language Bangladeshi films