Simon's 'Day After' grabs nomination at IDFA

Acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmaker Kamar Ahmed Simon's documentary 'Day After...' (Anyadin…) has been nominated for honours at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) 2021, widely revered as one of the best film festivals in the world.

IDFA 2021 authorities officially announced this on Monday and also enlisted the film among the 14 flicks in the 'International Competition' section of the festival's site.

This year's festival is scheduled to take place from November 17 to 28, and the Bangladesh-France-Norway joint venture film is scheduled to have its world premiere at Tuschinski Theatre-1 in Amsterdam on November 21.

In addition to directing, Simon wrote the screenplay for this 121-minute documentary. He is also the film's cinematographer.

Produced by Sara Afreen for Studio BEGINNING (Bangladesh), the film is co-produced by Dominique Welinski for DW and Ingrid Lill Høgtun for Barentsfilm As (Norway).

This is the second film in Simon's water trilogy. The maiden film of this exclusive trilogy was 'Shunte Ki Pao!' ('Are You Listening!') (2012).

The film received two Jan Vrijman Fund awards from IDFA, was named one of the outstanding pitches at the Asian Forum for Documentaries, and also won the Bangladesh National Film Award for best documentary film in 2015.

In addition to these, 'Shunte Ki Pao!' ('Are You Listening!') was also the winner of the Grand Prix at Cinéma du Réel France, Best Cinematography and Golden Conch awards for the best documentary at 13th Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) in India, Audience Choice Award at the Seattle South Asian Film Festival (SSAFF) in the US, Jury Award at Film South Asia, Nepal, and also nominated as the official selection in more than 40 festivals, including IDFA and Yamagata International Festival.

Celebrating the art of documentary films with this in-person festival in cinemas across Amsterdam, a total of 264 films will be screened at IDFA's 34th edition.