Master

Rezwan Shahriar Sumit traces the rise of Jahir, a teacher drawn into local politics in Bangladesh. What begins in idealism gradually hardens into an authoritarian impulse. With clarity and restraint, Sumit shows how ambition corrodes both community and self, revealing the mechanisms through which power reshapes a life.

The events that would later be known as Bangladesh’s July Revolution began in early June 2024. They culminated on 5 August with the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, bringing 15 years of autocratic rule to an end. How did the country function during those years, and who were the people who helped uphold the system? Some were like Jahir, a widely respected and even beloved teacher in a small town deep in the forest. At first, he is an activist guided by social conscience and the desire for change. But the deeper he is drawn into the networks of political influence, the more his ambition takes hold, and the more he becomes corrupt and eventually violent.

Master may speak directly about Bangladesh, yet the intellectual, emotional and material mechanisms it depicts are recognisable far beyond its borders. Much like Projecto Global in this year’s Big Screen Competition or The Wizard of the Kremlin in Limelight, Master explores the general through the specific, using the rules and rhythms of genre storytelling to look closely at lived realities.

The lesson, in the end, is left for each of us to draw.

– Vanja Kaludjercic

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