Bangladeshi film “The Blind Girl and an Elephant” (Sankota Dulchhe) has won an award at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival.

The film’s cinematographer, Samiul Karim Shuptak, received the Best Cinematography award in the Asian New Talent competition section. Director Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad and producer Manoj Pramanik accepted the award on his behalf yesterday.

In the same section, Chinese film “Her First Taste” won the Best Film award, while Ma Fufu was named Best Actress for her performance in the film. Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse won Best Director for “Nine Temples to Heaven”, while Sompop Sangkhamphol received the Best Actor award.

“Sankota Dulchhe” marks the feature directorial debut of Ishtiyak Ahmad Zihad and the first full-length production by producer Manoj Pramanik. The film was produced by Pramanik’s production house Manpachitra in collaboration with German production company Mogador Films.

German producer Christoph Thoke served as associate producer, while internationally acclaimed film critic, producer and programmer Darcy Paquet joined the project as consulting producer. Filmmaker and producer Fazle Hasan Shishir also served as a co-producer.

The film follows the lives of three women in rural Bangladesh who dream of breaking free from superstition, patriarchy, and social oppression. Through a series of unexpected and painful turns, a blind young woman ultimately finds the strength to continue pursuing her dreams and comes face to face with a mysterious elephant.

Shot entirely in black and white, “The Blind Girl and an Elephant” explores themes of womanhood, belief, social control, and personal freedom through a poetic cinematic language rooted in the realities of rural Bangladesh.

The cast includes Sanzida Akter Swarna, Tahmida Rahman Touhida, Sumaiya Haque, Ashok Bepari, Sabiha Zaman, Pankaj Majumdar, Munsif Mim, and Nishat Tasnim, among others.