Bangla
Avoiding alcohol and pork is no problem for Phaim. But how do you rhyme infatuation with no sex before marriage?
87'
Italy
IFFR 2019
Playful and charming debut about Phaim (22 years old) from the multicultural district of Torpignattara in Rome. When Phaim falls madly in love with the liberated Asia, he panics. According to his traditional parents, he must marry a Bengali woman, and according to Islam, sex before marriage is a sin. This is a clash of cultures which is everyday reality for many second-generation immigrants.
Phaim Bhuiyan based Bangla on his own life, playing the lead in a fictionalised version of himself. Comparisons with the recent cinema hit The Big Sick are easy to make and Bangla also proves that the tried and tested romcom formula lends itself perfectly to serious themes. In their own city, Phaim and his friends, who did not acquire Italian nationality until they were 18, are regarded as foreigners and they struggle with their parents' expectations. An honest comedy about integration and identity.
IFFR 2019
Programme IFFR 2019
Eight new films presented to an audience jury of five film-lovers. The winning film gets a cinema release in the Netherlands and will be broadcast by VPRO.
Read more about this programmeAvoiding alcohol and pork is no problem for Phaim. But how do you rhyme infatuation with no sex before marriage?
87'
Italy
IFFR 2019
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106'
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IFFR 2019
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