Bangladesh‘s Oscar committee has chosen Leesa Gazi’s debut feature “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House Named Shahana”) as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards.
Based on Gazi’s 2011 novella, the film is set in rural Bangladesh in the 1990s and follows Dipa, a young woman forced into a marriage with a widower in England. After enduring abuse, she returns home as a divorcee and confronts the entrenched patriarchal attitudes of her community while pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. The drama charts her gradual journey from vulnerability to self-determination.
The film, produced by Komola Collective and Goopy Bagha Productions Limited, stars Aanon Siddiqua as Dipa, delivering a breakout performance that anchors the narrative. She is joined by veteran actors Lutfur Rahman George and Iresh Zaker, alongside Kazi Ruma, Kamrunnahar Munni, Mugdhota Morshed Wriddhi, Amirul Haque Chowdhury, Naila Azad, Arif Islam, Naimur Rahman Apon and Jayanto Chattopadhyay, rounding out an ensemble that reflects a cross-section of Bangladeshi talent.
The film had its world premiere at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival in 2023, where it won the Film Critics Guild Gender Sensitivity Award, and has since traveled to festivals including the London Indian Film Festival, Dhaka International Film Festival and Kolkata People’s Film Festival.
Bangladesh has periodically submitted films to the Oscars but has yet to secure a nomination in the international feature category.
The Oscar international feature shortlist will be announced on Dec. 16 and the final five nominees will be announced on Jan. 22.
