Riad Arfin: Exploring love and reality in 14 minutes
Riad Arfin questions the design of the world around us, specifically immigration laws and geopolitical restrictions, through his short film ‘A Border Between Us’
When independent Bangladeshi filmmaker Riad Arfin decided to make a film out of his own life experiences and struggles, he didn't foresee the accolades his short film was going to garner. His film, 'A Border Between Us,' premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 2023. Recently, it won the Best Short Film award at the UK Asian Film Festival.
The 14-minute film tells the story of a Bangladeshi man's (Riad's) journey across continents to reunite with his partner in the UK, only to face unexpected challenges along the way.
For Riad, the film was simply, "a slice of life. A slice of my life."
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Riad says it was not the full picture of his struggles and beyond, because the funding from the Scottish Documentary Institute was only enough for a short film, not a feature-length one. However, this limitation didn't prevent him from depicting the challenges of loneliness in a foreign land, the entire immigration and visa process, and continuously questioning whether 'love' is enough to make people whole.
"The idea for 'A Border Between Us' first dawned upon me when I was applying for a UK visa to reunite with my partner in Scotland. I kept wondering why Bangladeshis have to endure such a gruelling visa process because of a weak passport, while the rest of the world experiences a much more streamlined process," said Riad.
Riad questions the design of the world around us through his work. He resents the fact that immigration laws and other geopolitical restrictions prevent two hearts that wish to be together from uniting. In books, love has no borders, but that is not the reality of our world.
Finally crossing the border and reuniting with his loved one may sound like a happy ending, but Riad's struggles were far from over. He faced loneliness and the disapproving looks and stares from the territorial Scottish residents, in a predominantly white neighbourhood, where he and his partner lived.
Not being a native English speaker, Riad struggled to fully express his emotions and feelings of anguish, even to his partner, as they communicated solely in English. This is when the practical realities of love—contrary to the notion that it's easy and makes everything better—became painfully clear.
"Everyone thinks that love will make you whole; that it's a very fulfilling feeling. But when reality kicks in, only then do you realise how difficult it is to make it work. Love is not enough," said Riad.
To express his truest self and his deepest emotions, Riad turned to filmmaking.
"'A Border Between Us' is basically my time in footage, against the unfairness of the world. It is through films such as this that I express my emotions, I express myself. Making this also served as a personal therapy, as I didn't have the means to reach out to a therapist," he added.
Although the film has now been released, won accolades, and is making significant progress, Riad admits it wasn't easy to achieve all of this. The competition for funding at the Scottish Documentary Institute was tough, as many other directors with equally good films were eyeing the same support.
"I'm grateful to the board for believing in my pitch and providing the funds," said Riad.
He continues, "Even more than that, I was thrilled with the creative freedom they allowed me. Usually, investors come with their own instructions and preferences, but that wasn't the case for this film. I had complete artistic freedom."
Winning the Best Short Film award at the UK Asian Film Festival certainly pleases Riad, although awards were not his primary focus when making the film. Nonetheless, this accolade positions him well for securing funding for a full-length feature film in the future.
Riad is also preparing for 'A Border Between Us' to be screened at the 2024 DC/Dox Film Festival in Washington, DC, on 16 June. The film was previously shown at the 2023 Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival and the 2023 Inverness Film Festival.
Growing up, Riad was influenced by the Nouvelle Vague movement from an early age. His short film 'A Bus Ride' won the Best Film award at the Dhaka International Short and Independent Film Festival in 2014 and was screened at various other festivals. His subsequent film, 'A Fishing Story,' won the Jury Award at the Chitrovasha Film Festival in 2020.
