SAFF to pay tribute to Bangladesh's Tareque Masud

Panaji, Sep 1 (IANS) Bangladesh's noted independent filmmaker Tareque Masud will be paid a tribute at the South Asian Film Festival (SAFF), starting here Sep 15.

Masud, who won the international critics prize at the 2002 Cannes film festival for his film 'Matir Moina', died in a road accident in August this year, SAFF secretary general Rahul Barua said Thursday.

'Tareque was the first Bangladeshi filmmaker who was recognised by the Cannes film festival,' Barua said. Legendary Bollywood actor Shammy Kapoor, who too passed away in August, would also be honoured at the four-day festival, Barua added.

'Tareque was also one of the two key witnesses of the International Crimes War Tribunal and was involved in documenting every minute detail of the Bangladesh liberation movement and the repression that it had faced,' Barua said.

Born in 1956, Masud was known for his films 'Matir Moina' (2002) and 'Muktir Gaan'. Both Masud and his Chicago-born wife Catherine Masud were returning from a shooting location by a bus when they met with the accident.

While Masud died on the spot, Catherine is recuperating from serious injuries.

In its sixth year, the SAFF promises a rich haul of more than 50 films from all the eight South Asian countries. Bhutan is the focus country of SAFF-2011 and a delegation from the Bhutanese film industry and members of the Motion Pictures Association of Bhutan (MPAB) will represent its industry in Goa festival.

'SAFF also works towards policy advocacy and promoting peace and harmony with an objective of strengthening socio-cultural relationship among the South Asian countries,' Barua said.