Bangladeshi documentary film on 1971 Liberation War rape survivors Bishkanta (Poison Thorn) is in the main competition of 17th Asiatica Mediale Film Festival taking place in Rome. The Festival will also showcase two other Bangladeshi films Under Construction and My Bicycle in the Panorama section.

Asiatica Film Mediale, encounters with Asian cinema is the largest and most representative event in Italy dedicated to Asian cinema mainly with Italian and European premieres (features, documentaries, shortfilms), special events and homages to film directors. Running from September 17th to October 2nd the festival this year will showcase over 40 films from 20 countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Philippines, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkey and Vietnam.

The Poison Thorn, directed by Farzana Boby and produced by Rubaiyat Hossain, revolves around the narratives of three rape survivors of Liberation War on 1971 of Bangladesh.

Their voices have been resurrected from the agony of silence. The pain and stigma of rape kept haunting them long after the independence, they felt that even though the war had ended, another one had begun in their personal lives. Women who fought and survived rape are still struggling to gain a respectable existence in society. They are Birangonas — war heroines — yet they have to fight everyday for social approval.

Ranjita Mandal blames patriarchy; Halima Khatun accuses the state, Rama Choudhury negates the idea of violence. They speak to break a silence after long forty-three years and through their voices, a new part of our history and identity comes into light.

Rubaiyat Hossain’s Internationally acclaimed feature film Under Construction is about a middle class Muslim woman struggling to find herself in the sprawl of urban Bangladesh. The film has participated in major film festivals worldwide winning many awards and recently it has been showcased in Open Doors section at Locarno Film Festival.

Another film participating in the festival is My Bicycle, a story told for the first time in an indigenous language in Bangladesh. ‘My Bicycle’ Aung Rakhine’s debut feature film that has been screened at Tallinn Black Nights and Göteborg film festival is a mature, sophisticated and poetic representation of Bangladesh’s most marginalised population.