Imaginations fly high

The face of normal childhood, kids running around the playground, giggling with joy, having fun, have been lost over time. High-rise buildings, the concrete city are stealing the joyful experiences of growing up from these generations. The brick-and-stone city is taking away the simple routine of the afternoon playtime at the local football field. To this new generation, these are the stories of the past. The lucky ones listen to their grandparents recounting their childhood days, telling them the history of Bangladesh.

Plunging into the world of imagination under ‘house arrest’ in this new normal, Affan Jawad, a student of Class 7 at Dhaka Residential Model College, and Queen, a student of Class 10 grade at Rajbari Government Girl's High School, have captured that imagination on the reel and made them real. This story does not stop here. There are many more which these young ones brought to life with their 'online mobile filmmaking' learning experience.

New generation, New tool, New communication is one of the initiatives of the Department of Media Studies and Journalism (MSJ) of the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB). Although the world somewhat came to a still at the time of corona, the world of their imagination did not get stuck. DIMFF took a new step under the banner of "Introduction to Mobile Filmmaking, Filmmaking for Everyone," an eight-week online course. This course shows the new generation how to express their thoughts and creativity through mobile phones.

This online course was carefully designed for students studying from Class 6 to 12 or equivalent classes. The purpose of this programme was to give a comprehensive idea about filmmaking using smartphones as well as to provide experience in using modern gadgets and software. A total of 1,080 from different parts of Bangladesh joined and it finally began with 146 selected students on Friday, 17 July 2020.

Instructors Syeda Sadia Mehjabin and Priyanka Chowdhury helped the students' throughout the course so that they could dream of making their first film, and share their stories to the world. At the end of this course, 60 students have submitted their movies in the "One Minute Category" to the Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival 2021.

This e-learning course is coordinated by Dr. Kabil Khan, advisor of DIMFF and assistant professor of Media Studies and Journalism department.

The closing ceremony of the Online Mobile Film-making Course was celebrated on Friday, 11 September 2020, at 5pm on Zoom platform. MSJ Department Head Dr Jude William Genilo inaugurated the program with a warm welcome speech. Dr Dewan Md Humayun Kabir, joint secretary and joint project director, a2i and Dr. Najmul Hossain, Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF Bangladesh), among others, spoke during the session.

The Film Director Mitali Roy and cinematographer Tanvir Ahsan were also present to encourage and support more to our next upcoming young filmmakers. Bonna Mirza, acclaimed media personality, graced the event with her lively presence. Participants’ films were screened at the ceremony. They were given course completion certificates.

DIMFF is partnering with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) and the Aspire to innovate in Bangladesh (a2i).