Hamburg: Bangladeshi filmmaker Rabiul Alam Rabi's upcoming feature film "Kill Me Like a Dog" has won the European Work in Progress (EWIP) K-13 Studios Award at the eighth fest held in Hamburg this year.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the film is one of eight projects under the "Remembering Monsoon Resolution" initiative organized by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs with assistance from the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. It was showcased at the event in Hamburg, which was part of Filmfest Hamburg's Industry Days, held over three days from September 29 to October 1.
The film, titled "Kill Me Like a Dog" and produced in collaboration with Norway, received the K-13 Studios Award. This accolade includes Dolby Atmos mixing support worth 10,000 euros from Berlin-based K-13 Studios. The movie is expected to be released early next year, with Rabiul Alam Rabi having written, directed, and produced the film, drawing inspiration from Franz Kafka's novel "The Trial."
The narrative follows the life of an ordinary banker in Khulna who suddenly finds himself ensnared in an absurd judicial process orchestrated by the state's intelligence forces, without any knowledge of his alleged crime.
According to sources at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, more than 300 professionals from the European film industry, including producers, distributors, financiers, festival organizers, and marketers, attended the two-day EWIP fest, which aims to identify and promote promising upcoming films. This year's EWIP received a record 240 submissions from European productions and co-productions, with 27 films in mid or last stages of post-production being shortlisted.
Among those, 14 films received awards, including some from outside Europe but co-produced with European studios, featuring entries from countries like Brazil and Peru. Discussing his film, director Rabiul Alam Rabi stated, "This film reimagines Kafka's 'The Trial' in the suffocating political landscape of contemporary Bangladesh where fear has become a daily companion, justice a farce, and truth has lost its meaning."