Shampa Reza: Crowdfunding can save our film industry during hard times

Sketch: TBS

From 'Mukh o Mukhosh' (1956) to 'Kura Pokkhir Shunne Ura' (2022), the Bangladeshi film industry has experienced many ups and downs, to say the least. However, in 2022 the industry has undergone a metamorphosis and presented us with some great films.

Movies like 'Hawa', 'Poran', 'Damal', indicate that the Dhallywood image is changing for the better. But, at the onset of the pitfall of the country's economy, it is hard to tell how long this image will sustain.

Shampa Reza, a bona fide singer, model and actress, lent her two cents on the matter.

"Given the backdrop of our impoverished socio-economic structure, I am honestly proud that our industry has come this far. But global inflation and the instability of our economy pose a big threat to our industry. At the end of the day, we are a poor country, trying hard to grow," she said.

Shampa believes it's high time we start preparing ourselves for rainy days and finding sustainable solutions.

"Crowdfunding can save our film industry from economic recession," she said.

Shampa Reza is a celebrated name in Bangladesh's media. Her acting career began with a role in the play 'Ostrotogandha', directed by Selim Al Deen. She was only a 10th grader back then.

She is also the founder of the schools named Anando Niketan and Rodela Chottor.

Crowdfunding has been a popular way to raise funds for different projects and businesses. Startups are always open to this idea. 

Over the years, Hollywood has become exemplary in making masterpieces via crowdfunding. Veronica Mars (2014) is the most funded movie, which received a total of $5,702,153 (Tk57 Core) through Kickstarter, one of the most popular crowdfunding sites worldwide.

The idea of crowdfund films seemed to elude filmmakers in the country, until Yuvraj Shamim, an aspiring independent director, decided to break the taboo with his art film 'Adeem', which was made through crowdfunding.

Shot at a local slum in Gazipur with real-life characters, this movie has received overwhelming responses worldwide. However, the film has not yet been released in Bangladesh.

Reportedly, the film has won the Netpack Jury Award at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival and was also crowned the best movie at Queen's Film Festival.

Shampa marks this movie as the beginning of a new chapter.

"Even though I have not watched the movie yet, I love the concept. If I were asked to contribute to this movie's fund as a mass representative, I wouldn't have thought twice about chipping in," she said.

Funding has always been a big issue in our film industry. A lot of good scripts fail to manage funding from producers. Shampa has been receiving several movie offers as of late and she seems to be drawn to strong scripts. However, due to a lack of funding, none of the movies could continue filming. 

Shampa was disappointed because there are not many compelling stories to act in, and the ones that do have strong stories, they struggle with funding.

She fears the situation will get worse in the upcoming days.

"We only have a handful of internal associations in the film industry (Director's Guild, FAB, Actor's Association, etc) and the unity among them brings positive energy. I believe these associations can pave the path of crowdfunding by building awareness from their respective platforms."

A plethora of crowdfunding sites are available and can be utilised in this regard. Moreover, the number of social media users in Bangladesh make the idea feasible. But the real question is if we have the mindset to make it happen.

"The answer is debatable. Even though we lack enthusiasm when it comes to culture, we never fail to appreciate quality work. The way mass people applauded recent movies like Hawa and Poran; I am hopeful that they will come forward for films like these. We must give them good movies and keep them motivated."