Tareque Masud(1956-2011)
- Writer
- Director
- Music Department
Tareque Masud was born in Nurpur Village
of Faridpur District in Bangladesh. At an early age he was sent off to
madrassa (Islamic school) by his deeply religious father. He studied in
the madrassa system until 1971, when the upheaval brought about by the
9-month Liberation War interrupted his education. After Bangladesh won
independence from Pakistan, he entered general education, completing
his HSC from Adamjee Cantonment College and eventually graduating from
Dhaka University with a degree in History.
Tareque was involved in the film society movement from his university
days and started his first film
Adam Surat (1991) (The Inner
Strength), a documentary on the legendary Bangladeshi painter S.M.
Sultan, in 1982. His 1995 feature length documentary on the '71
Liberation War, Muktir Gaan (1995)
(Song of Freedom) brought record audiences and became a cult classic.
He also made many other films on the war, including
Muktir Kotha (1999) (Words of
Freedom), Narir Kotha (Women and War) (2000) and Naroshundor (The
Barbershop)(2009) . In 2002, he completed his feature film
The Clay Bird (2002) (The Clay Bird),
which was based on his childhood experience in the Madrassa. The film
won the Critics' Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) at the Cannes Film Festival
(2002), was the first Bangladeshi film to compete in the Oscars, and
was released in many countries around the world.
In addition to his film making work, he was also a pioneer of the
independent film movement in Bangladesh. Tareque was a founding member
of the Short Film Forum, the leading platform for independent
filmmakers. In 1988, he organized the country's first International
Short and Documentary Film Festival, which is held on a biannual basis
to this day. He was also known as the 'Cinema Feriwalla' (Vendor of
Movies) for the way in which he showed his films, touring remote towns
and villages throughout the country with his mobile projection unit.
His wife, American-born Catherine Masud,
was his creative and life partner. They met at the time he was
completing work on
Adam Surat (1991)and spent the next
two decades making films together through their production house
'Audiovision [bd]'. Together they wrote
scripts, often co-directed, and toured the country and the world with
their films. Catherine also edited all of their work. Masud died on
August 13, 2011 in a tragic road accident while returning from work on
location for his upcoming feature film Kagojer Phul (The Paper Flower),
on the 1947 partition of Bengal. Also killed in the accident was his
longtime cinematographer and friend
Mishuk Muneer, along with three other
colleagues. Catherine Masud and four
others survived the accident. Since his death, Catherine has
established the 'Tareque Masud Memorial Trust', which is dedicated to
the task of archiving and memorializing Masud's work through
publications, educational projects, screening programs, and the
completion of their unfinished oeuvre.
of Faridpur District in Bangladesh. At an early age he was sent off to
madrassa (Islamic school) by his deeply religious father. He studied in
the madrassa system until 1971, when the upheaval brought about by the
9-month Liberation War interrupted his education. After Bangladesh won
independence from Pakistan, he entered general education, completing
his HSC from Adamjee Cantonment College and eventually graduating from
Dhaka University with a degree in History.
Tareque was involved in the film society movement from his university
days and started his first film
Adam Surat (1991) (The Inner
Strength), a documentary on the legendary Bangladeshi painter S.M.
Sultan, in 1982. His 1995 feature length documentary on the '71
Liberation War, Muktir Gaan (1995)
(Song of Freedom) brought record audiences and became a cult classic.
He also made many other films on the war, including
Muktir Kotha (1999) (Words of
Freedom), Narir Kotha (Women and War) (2000) and Naroshundor (The
Barbershop)(2009) . In 2002, he completed his feature film
The Clay Bird (2002) (The Clay Bird),
which was based on his childhood experience in the Madrassa. The film
won the Critics' Prize (FIPRESCI Prize) at the Cannes Film Festival
(2002), was the first Bangladeshi film to compete in the Oscars, and
was released in many countries around the world.
In addition to his film making work, he was also a pioneer of the
independent film movement in Bangladesh. Tareque was a founding member
of the Short Film Forum, the leading platform for independent
filmmakers. In 1988, he organized the country's first International
Short and Documentary Film Festival, which is held on a biannual basis
to this day. He was also known as the 'Cinema Feriwalla' (Vendor of
Movies) for the way in which he showed his films, touring remote towns
and villages throughout the country with his mobile projection unit.
His wife, American-born Catherine Masud,
was his creative and life partner. They met at the time he was
completing work on
Adam Surat (1991)and spent the next
two decades making films together through their production house
'Audiovision [bd]'. Together they wrote
scripts, often co-directed, and toured the country and the world with
their films. Catherine also edited all of their work. Masud died on
August 13, 2011 in a tragic road accident while returning from work on
location for his upcoming feature film Kagojer Phul (The Paper Flower),
on the 1947 partition of Bengal. Also killed in the accident was his
longtime cinematographer and friend
Mishuk Muneer, along with three other
colleagues. Catherine Masud and four
others survived the accident. Since his death, Catherine has
established the 'Tareque Masud Memorial Trust', which is dedicated to
the task of archiving and memorializing Masud's work through
publications, educational projects, screening programs, and the
completion of their unfinished oeuvre.