Badhon wins ‘best actress’ prize for ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ at Asia Pacific Screen Awards

Bangladesh’s Azmeri Haque Badhon has won the prize for the best performance by an actress at Asia Pacific Screen Awards for her lead role in ‘Rehana Maryam Noor’ aka ‘Rehana’.

The film’s director Abdullah Mohammad Saad was awarded the second place, or Jury Grand Prizes, jointly with Leah Purcell for her debut feature ‘The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson’.

Japan’s Hamaguchi Ryusuke earned double honours on Thursday at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. His ‘Drive My Car’ was named best film, while he shared the best screenplay award with the film’s co-writer Oe Takamasa, Variety magazine reported.

The 14th APSA ceremony was held at the Home of the Arts in Queensland, Australia and gave prizes to 10 films from eleven territories. The event also marked the official opening of the third Asia Pacific Screen Forum conference series.

Iran’s Asghar Farhadi was awarded achievement in directing prize for ‘A Hero’, aka Ghahreman’, which the APSA jury called ‘an intimate epic’.

The first film from Bangladesh to be part of the prestigious official line-upof the Cannes, ‘Rehana’ had its premiere in the festival’s Un Certain Regard section with a standing ovation from the audience.

The film centres on Rehana, an assistant professor at a local medical college who finds herself in a difficult position after witnessing a sexual assault because she knows both the victim and the perpetrator.

The cast include Afia Jahin Jaima, Kazi Sami Hassan and Afia Tabassum Borno. The film’s producer is Jeremy Chua, Executive Producer Ehsanul Haque Babu,  cinematographer Tuhin Tamijul, set director Ali Afjal Uzzal, colourist Chinmoy Roy and sound director Sayba Talukder.