ABOUT KAMAR
A poet in private, and an architect by training, Kamar Ahmad Simon is a new face from Asia. His politically engaging cinematic oeuvre bordering fiction and reality is deeply obsessed with the representation of the subaltern. Kamar keeps shifting genres from nonfiction features to monologue collages to docu dramas to hybrid narratives to classic fiction, interrogating his time and space. His restless camera investigates as a tactile instrument, and the noisy soundtrack auscultates the characters in between, confronting the political hegemony of a globalized world.
Kamar came to know with his critically acclaimed debut ‘Are You Listening!’ (Shunte Ki Pao!), a nonfiction feature and the first part of a water trilogy. The international jurours from Paris cited the film as “a visual symphony, an ode to life”; jurors in Mumbai referred to it as “bordering meditation”, while the European Film Magazine wrote, “strong political work, distinct artist vision”. ‘Day after…’ (Anyadin…), a hybrid fiction and the second part of the trilogy was described as “kaleidoscopic and philosophical” by IDFA; variety reviewed the film as “conscientious,” while Screen Daily tagged it as “seductive”.
Kamar Ahmad Simon (L) with producer Sara Afreen (C) and artistic director Christian Jungen (R), at the green carpet of Zurich Film Festival.
“Born and brought up in an orthodox Muslim family in old Dhaka, I experienced a disturbing childhood with an abusive father. The boatyard in my backyard became one of my favorite escapes, growing close to the stray dogs – my refuge was the old alleys of the post-colonial capital under construction. Playing around with the masons and the carpenters became my favorite pastime. I started making paper houses of wasted wedding cards, I grew a crush for the ‘frozen music’ – Architecture. I passed one of the most competitive exams in the country to study Architecture. But by the year I graduated, I had already discovered the ‘living music’ – Cinema.”
Kamar was featured as red carpet director in Piazza Grande at Locarno and won many awards, including the prestigious Harrell Award at Camden International Film Festival, Grand Prix in Cinéma du réel, Golden Conch in MIFF, Locarno Open Doors Award and Arte International Prix. He has been nominated for ‘Golden Eye’ in Zurich Film Festival, International Competition of IDFA and served as a jury member of Sydney Film Festival. La Fabrique Cinéma de l’Institut français selected his project and Cinefondation sent him exclusive invitation to take part in Cannes Film Festival. He has been awarded with prestigious World Cinema Fund (WCF) from Berlinale, and won many competitive grants including Sundance, IDFA-Bertha, and Movies that Matter.
Leading arts venues such as the Museum of Moving Images (MoMI) in New York, Center Pompidou in and Louxor Cinema in Paris has exhibited Kamar’s work. Library of Johns Hopkins University and La Bibliothèque publique d’information France acquired rights to his film; Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI) London, the Conference of Youth (COY) and Sorbonne University in Paris held special screenings of his film. For the passion of cinema, Kamar has organized a number of festivals, masterminded discourses to which international helmers like Claire Dennis, Viktor Kossakovosky were invited in his hometown Dhaka.