The Brahmanbaria Film Society suspended its film screening event, titled Bhatghumer Cinema Adda, which was scheduled for Saturday at Annada Government High School in the district town, amid protests from Qawmi madrassah students.

The society cancelled the screening of Tanim Noor-directed film Banalata Express after the venue authorities withdrew permission to avoid unforeseen circumstances.

In a statement, the society noted with regret that following the announcement of the screening, certain group in Brahmanbaria had engaged in unprovoked, misleading and deliberate false propaganda against the event on social media.

The society added that bad actors were attempting to manufacture controversy through fake profiles, even though screening and promoting films are fully legal under Bangladeshi laws.

The statement noted that a new date for the event would be announced soon in consultation with the local administration and local lawmaker Khaled Mahbub Shyamal.

The online backlash triggered widespread controversy on social media, prompting various socio-cultural activists to express deep disappointment with the local administration’s handling of the situation.

The general secretary of the Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies, Mohammad Nurullah, issued a statement expressing strong condemnation and anger regarding the forced suspension.

Nurullah warned that the malicious effort to target a work of art through cyberspace propaganda and real-world mob culture served as a dangerous example of the suppression of Bangladesh’s cultural landscape.

The federation has put forward a three-point demand, including investigation, identification and trial of those who used online provocation and threats of mob violence to force the administration to halt the film screening.