Venice honours Rubaiyat Hossain’s ‘Difficult Bride’

Having our film honoured at the Venice Film Festival is one of the most beautiful and joyful days of my life. The response to the film has gone way beyond what we expected.

Bangladeshi filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain has won the Premio Bisato d’Oro, the Best Director award from the independent film critics’ panel, at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in Italy.

She received the honour for directing “The Difficult Bride”, which was nominated in the festival’s Orizzonti section and received the critics’ award on Friday.

Speaking with Glitz on Saturday, Rubaiyat said: “Having our film honoured at the Venice Film Festival is one of the most beautiful and joyful days of my life. The response to the film has gone way beyond what we expected.”

She said she had not set out to make “The Difficult Bride” with commercial success or awards in mind.

“I made this film for myself, it was an experiment. That it would be so warmly received, from general audiences to the jury, is far more than I ever expected,” she added. “When we make films, we don’t think about festivals or awards, we make them from a place of love.” On the jury’s reaction while presenting the award, Rubaiyat said films from South Asia that typically travel to international platforms tend to carry stories of poverty or sorrow.

“But the jury told us ‘The Difficult Bride’ breaks that familiar mould. It’s the story of an upper-class family, blending celebration with supernatural, body-horror elements.

“Making something outside the usual conventions and still earning recognition on an international stage, that’s the real achievement.”

“The Difficult Bride” had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on Sept 6. Recalling premiere day, the filmmaker said: “It was one of the most beautiful and joyful days of my life. I was so busy that day, I was honestly in a daze. Now I keep thinking, why didn’t I enjoy that day more!”

The festival, which began on Sept 2, runs through Saturday.

Reflecting on the experience, the director said, “It’s not common to travel abroad with such a large team for a festival. But I always wanted us to celebrate together, like a family. “I made sure everyone was on the red carpet, from the sound editor to the cast. Honestly, it was one of the most beautiful days of my life.”

Looking back on her days in Venice, Rubaiyat said: “This six-day trip brought plenty of emotional moments. My sister left her young child behind in London to come support me in Venice, which meant a great deal to me.

“I was also invited to Italian fashion house Prada’s special exhibition, Pradasphere, where getting to chat with actress Susan Sarandon and fashion icon Miuccia Prada about the film was a real highlight.”

“Seeing my Portuguese cinematographer, Leonor Teles, so thrilled and emotional on premiere day was a wonderful moment. She was very serious throughout the shoot, so seeing her that happy on premiere day felt like the real payoff as a director,” she added.

On audience reactions, Rubaiyat said many viewers cried during the film’s final scene. People shared how much they enjoyed the film across various settings, and she sees winning over audiences this way, as the first Bangladeshi film to do so, as a special feeling.�"bdnews24