Bangladesh's 'Annie' wins Best Series at Geneva International Film Festival
Bangladeshi mini-series 'Annie' has won the 'Future is Sensible Award – Best Series' at the 32nd Geneva International Film Festival in Switzerland.
Directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad and starring Nazifa Tushi, the series won the top honour in its first appearance at the festival.
'Annie' was formally announced as the winner at the festival's closing and awards ceremony on Saturday evening (7 November) at Théâtre Pitoëff, Maison Communale de Plainpalais, in Geneva, Switzerland.
The mini-series won the Best Series award among the series selected in the festival's 'Future is Sensible' section. It is a notable achievement for a Bangladeshi series on the international stage.
Reacting to the award, the 'Annie' team said, 'We only wanted to tell a story. Today, seeing that story fly on its own wings feels wonderful. Annie is a long journey of a shared dream of trust and courage of many of us. This international recognition has made that journey even more special and memorable.'
The series had two screenings at the 32nd Geneva International Film Festival before the awards. 'Annie' was screened on 2 and 5 November at 'Le Cinéma du Grütli – Salle Simon' in Geneva.
Nazifa Tushi plays the title role in the series directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad. Yash Rohan, Simon Sadiq, Sarika Sabrina, Farhana Mithu and Nazah play various other characters.
Earlier, 'Annie' was selected in the 'Women in Series' section of the SerienCamp Festival, an international series festival held in Cologne, Germany. Through this, the series represented Bangladesh at a prestigious series-focused festival in the world.
Its world premiere was held at the same festival on 9 June. The producers said the series will later be released for Bangladeshi viewers on the OTT platform iScreen.
'Annie' is produced by Metro Video, Catalog and Jirel. Its producers are Ehsanul Haque Babu and Ali Afzal Ujjal. The co-producers are Tanvir Hossain, Shihab Nurun Nabi, Tuhin Tamizul, Johan Chappelan, Saiful Islam and Raihan Sikder.
Director Abdullah Mohammad Saad first gained international recognition in 2016 with his debut film 'Live from Dhaka'. His second film, 'Rehana Maryam Noor', made in 2021, was selected in the important 'Un Certain Regard' section of the Cannes Film Festival.
It was the first Bangladeshi film to find a place in the official selection of the Cannes Film Festival. The film was screened at more than 15 international film festivals around the world. With the Best Series award at the Geneva International Film Festival, 'Annie' has further strengthened its standing on the international stage.
