Filmmakers in Focus explores the corpus of works by filmmakers who have maintained a responsive and reflective relationship to the moment in which they are working. Drawing on underrepresented experiences, vital histories and moments that are in need of remembrance, these filmmakers offer a remarkable and enduring lens to our world.

At the invitation of BFAMF, Naeem Mohaiemen has curated a selection of Molla Sagar’s films that he considers to be in dialogue with his films. This selection reflects two decades of friendship and conversation between the two Bangladeshi filmmakers. Their exchanges include “The River you Never Knew” (in Mohaiemen’s book Midnight’s Third Child, 2023), a critical engagement with Sagar’s riverine oeuvre, and “Raihan-Ghatak-Tarkovsky” (2026), a threading of Sagar on Ritwik Ghatak and Mohaiemen on Zahir Raihan.

Focus: Mohaiemen + Sagar showcases the breadth of work by Naeem Mohaiemen and Molla Sagar, offering a dialogue between their respective practices and featuring five European Premieres, one UK premiere and one World Festival Premiere.

This programme is supported by Midnight’s Third Child through the British Council’s Connections Through Culture Programme.

The first programme of the strand weaves together Sagar’s documentary lens on the marginalised histories of Bangladesh – from the devastating decline of the once-vital jute industry in Siren (Bangladesh, 2012) and the lyrical contemplation of the Ganges in Ganga Buri (Bangladesh, 2009, European Premiere), to the struggle of Santal indigenous farmers in Doodh Koila (Bangladesh, 2006, European Premiere) – with Mohaiemen’s intricate visual and textual investigations into radical histories and the post-colony, including Abu Ammar is Coming (Bangladesh/UK/Lebanon, 2016), Rankin Street (Bangladesh, 2013), and Wooster Street (USA, 2021, European Premiere).

The second programme presents a deeper look into individual lives and profound choices. Sagar’s Dadu (Bangladesh, 2017, European Premiere) is a comprehensive record of the 103-year-long experience and humanitarian philosophy of Momin Ali Mridha. This is paired with Mohaiemen’s Grace (USA, 2023, European Premiere), a meditative portrait of Karen Wentworth, a Maine resident who, despite registering intent under the Death with Dignity Act, is dedicated to living her life to the fullest.

The final programme turns toward history, memory, and political legacy. Sagar’s Bhobar Vita (Bangladesh, 2025, World Festival Premiere) traces the filmmaker Ritwik Kumar Ghatak’s search for home, as memory and myth, through the eyes of his twin sister after the trauma of the 1947 Partition. This is followed by Mohaiemen’s A Missing Can of Film (Bangladesh/India/Ireland, 2025, UK Premiere), which queries the lost left politics within an unfinished film by Zahir Raihan, interrupting archival copies with contemporary footage shot in the wake of the 2024 Bangladesh Student Uprising. Collectively, these films invite audiences to explore complex narratives of political failure, resilience, and the enduring power of place and memory across Bangladesh and beyond.