Tanvir Mokammel

Tanvir Mokammel
Mokammel in 2018
Native name	তানভীর মোকাম্মেল
Born	(1955-03-08)March 8, 1955 Khulna (Bangladesh)
Education	University of Dhaka
Occupation	Filmmaker, Writer
Years active	1984–present
Website	www.tanvirmokammel.com

Tanvir Mokammel (born 8 March 1955) is a Bangladeshi filmmaker and author of books. He is the recipient of the prestigious Ekushey Podok given by the state of Bangladesh for his contribution in cinema. He won Bangladesh National Film Awards in total for nine times for his films Nodir Naam Modhumoti (1995), Chitra Nodir Pare (1999) and Lalsalu (2001). He is the current director of Bangladesh Film Institute.

Tanvir Mokammel has written fourteen books, which includes books on cinema, novels, poems, essays, literary criticism and translation works.

Tanvir Mokammel is also engaged in alternative education in Bangladesh. In the light of the educational ideas of Tagore and Grundtvig, Tanvir Mokammel has established four cultural schools for the children of the poor families in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

Early life and education

Mokammel was born and passed his childhood in Khulna. His father was a magistrate and his mother a college teacher. Mokammel studied at St. Joseph’s School, Dhaka College and completed his Master's in English literature at the University of Dhaka. He also studied at International People’s College (IPC) in Denmark.

Career

Since his university days, Mokammel was active in film-society movement and other cultural activities. He also worked as a left-wing journalist and later as an organizer of the landless peasants in rural areas. As a filmmaker Tanvir Mokammel has made six full-length feature films and fifteen documentaries and short films. Some of his films have received national and international awards.

Mokammel’s feature films are "Nodir Naam Modhumati" (The River Named Modhumati), "Chitra Nodir Pare" (Quiet Flows the River Chitra), "Lalsalu" (A Tree Without Roots), "Lalon", "Rabeya" (The Sister) and "Jibondhuli" (The Drummer). His first short film was “Hooliya”[Wanted] . Tanvir Mokammel’s prominent documentaries are “Tale of a Lane”, “Remembrance of ‘71”, "The Garment Girls of Bangladesh", "The Unknown Bard", "Teardrops of Karnaphuli", "Riders to the Sunderbans", "A Tale of the Jamuna River", "Tajuddin Ahmad :An Unsung Hero", "The Japanese Wife", "Swapnabhumi" [The Promised Land], “Seemantorekha” [The Borderline] and the mega-documentary "1971". His movies "Nodir Naam Modhumati" (The River Named Modhumati) and "Chitra Nodir Pare" (Quiet Flows the River Chitra) ranked second and third respectively in the list of 10 best Bangladeshi films in the audience and critics' polls conducted by the British Film Institute.

Mokammel has written novels, poems, short stories and articles on cinema and cultural issues. Tanvir Mokammel has authored twelve books. His important books are "A Brief History of World Cinema", "The Art of Cinema", "Charlie Chaplin: Conquests by a Tramp", "Syed Waliullah, Sisyphus and Quest of Tradition in Novel" (a book of literary criticism), "Grundtvig and Folk Education" (a book on alternative educational ideas), and a translation of Maxim Gorky’s play "The Lower Depths". He has a collection of poems published titled as “Behula Bangla and Other Poems”. Mokammel also has written two novelsÑ"Dui Nogor" and “Keertinasha”. Both his novels are on the backdrop of 1947 partition.

Tanvir Mokammel was the founder president of “Bangladesh Short Film Forum” and vice-president of “Bangladesh Federation of Film Societies”. Mokammel has also established a film institute called Bangladesh Film Institute and also a film centre known as Bangladesh Film Centre. Mokammel takes classes and deliver lectures on cinema and other socio-cultural issues in different universities both home and abroad.

For his contribution in cinema and cultural field Tanvir Mokammel has been awarded Ekushay Podok in 2017, the prestigious civilian award for culture given by the state of Bangladesh.

Filmography

Awards and honors

Publications

1. Film Aesthetics and Twelve Directors (Chalachitra o Barojon Director) in Bengali, a book dealing with the film aesthetics of Griffith, Eisenstein, Kuleshov, Pudovkin, Cocteau, Dziga Vertov, Stroheim, John Ford, Renoir, Godard, Rene Clair and Satyajit Ray, Sahitya Prakashoni, 1985.
2. Film (Chalachitra), a brief history of the world cinema, in Bengali, published by Bangla Academy, 1987.
3. Marxism and Literature (Marxbad O Sahitya), a collection of essays, mostly literary criticism on different authors of Bengali literature, also essays on Gramsci and on the problem of alienation.
4. Syed Waliullah, Sisyphus and Quest for Tradition in Novel (in Bengali), a book of literary criticism on the novels and short stories written by Syed Waliullah, perhaps the most prominent writer among the Bengalee Muslim community, published by Muktodhara, 1988.
5. Nitchutalar Manush, translation of Maxim Gorky’s play The Lower Depths into Bengali, published by Viswasahitya Kendro, 1997.
6. Charlie Chaplin: Triumph of the Tramp (Bhabaghurer Digbijoy), in Bengali, on the life and craft of Charlie Chaplin as an actor and film-maker, Sahitya Prakasoni, 1996.
7. Grundtvig and Gonoshikhsa, a book on the theories of alternative education for the downtrodden and disadvantaged people of the rural areas, 1997.
8. Art of Cinema (Cinemar Shilparup), in Bengali, a collection of essays on different aspects of the aesthetics of cinema, published by Anarya Prokashoni, 1998.
9. “Bangalir Medha O Onnaya Probondho”, in Bengali, a collection of essays, Anarjo Prokashoni, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
10. “Behula Bangla and Other Poems”, a collection of poems, Adam Prokashoni, Kolkata.
11. “Dui Nogor”, a novel, published by Dhaka Creative Art, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
12. “Keertinasa”, a novel, published in Bangladesh by Anarjo Prokashoni, Dhaka and in India by Sopan publisher.

Teaching

1. Director of Bangladesh Film Institute
2. Takes classes at Bangladesh Cinema and Television Institute
3. Took classes or delivered lectures at Stamford University, Kolkata University (Kolkata), Jadavpur University (Delhi), Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi) and Pune Film Institute (India).

References

External links

• Tanvir Mokammel on IMDb