This double bill of Yasmine Kabir’s two documentaries A Certain Liberation (2003) and The Last Rites (2008), see evocative responses to the Bangladeshi liberation war and to Chittagong’s ship-breaking graveyards respectively. These lyrical interventions explore the relationship between the nation’s collective memory, environmental degradation and modernity.
Showing as part of Between Kismet and Karma, a partnership between Shisha and the University of Leeds.
A Certain Liberation (12A)
A sensitive and heartbreaking portrait of a fascinating woman, Gurudasi Mondol, who roams the streets of a small town in Bangladesh, taking at will from strangers and breaking into spaces normally reserved for men. We soon learn that her endearing quality of unflinchingly throwing caution to the wind stems from her experiences during the Liberation War of Bangladesh, following the murder of her family she was later imprisoned and raped. She scorns authority, yet in her madness she has found a strategy for survival and has attained near legendary status as a cherished member of the community and “Queen of the Poor”.
Running Time: 38 mins
The Last Rites (U)
The story of the ship-breaking yards, the graveyards of ocean vessels near Chittagong in Bangladesh. In the foreground, fishermen wade through low water with nets in hand; in the background, we see the gigantic ships on their sides, waiting for the day they’ll be taken apart. A short, silent account in which director Yasmine Kabir is more in search of the poetry of the images than a record of the events.
Running Time: 17 mins