Beyond the Mast nominated for Life Award at Imagineindia 2025

The film directed by Mohammad Nuruzzaman has been nominated for Life Award (Best Humnitarian Film).

Mohammad Nuruzzaman is a Bangladeshi writer, director, and producer whose cinematic voice stands out for its introspective minimalism, sonic depth, and open-ended narratives. An Architecture graduate by training, Nuruzzaman has translated his spatial awareness and visual precision into a unique filmmaking style marked by quiet realism, evocative soundscapes, and a deep fascination with the unspoken.

He made his debut as a feature filmmaker with Summer Holiday (2022), a film deeply rooted in personal childhood experience and observation. The work was noted for its emotional restraint and ambient narrative structure, establishing his reputation as a serious auteur from South Asia. His second feature, Beyond the Mast (Mastul), had its world premiere at the 47th Moscow International Film Festival in 2024 and earned a Special Mention from the International Federation of Film Societies, a recognition that further validated his emerging international profile.

Nuruzzaman embraces an auteurist approach to filmmaking — often writing, producing, directing, editing, and designing the sound for his films. He frequently collaborates with non-professional actors and shoots in real locations under real conditions, lending his work an authentic and immersive texture. He believes in telling stories that reveal themselves slowly and quietly, often leaving space for viewers to contemplate rather than consume.

Currently in post-production with his third feature film Black Cat in the Darkness, he continues to explore themes of human isolation, memory, and the subtle exertion of power in everyday relationships. Alongside his directorial efforts, Nuruzzaman co-produced the critically acclaimed film The Instinct (2022), which received several international awards, including the NETPAC Award and Silver Saint George at the Moscow International Film Festival in 2022.

In parallel with his filmmaking, Nuruzzaman has founded three platforms that support the growth of independent cinema in Bangladesh: CineMaker, a production collective; Cinescope, a film screening platform; and Cinepeeth, a Bangla-language hub for critical writing, discourse and education for hands-on filmmaking. Together, these initiatives aim to nurture new voices and cultivate a deeper appreciation for auteur-driven cinema.

With an expanding body of work and a firm commitment to his cinematic philosophy, Mohammad Nuruzzaman continues to develop a language that is at once deeply local and profoundly universal — one that resists spectacle in favour of introspection, authenticity, and human depth.

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