film on Dhaka factory disaster Rana Plaza

Legal pingpong delays film on Dhaka factory disaster

DHAKA -- More than two years have passed since the collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight-story factory complex in a Dhaka suburb that employed thousands of garment workers. An estimated 1,129 people were killed in the disaster, sparking a global outcry over working conditions in Bangladesh's $25 billion clothing industry.

The tragedy is far from forgotten. A compensation fund for victims met its targeted goal a few months ago. In June, murder charges were filed against 41 people associated with the building, where five local companies filled orders for dozens of Western apparel brands. And in late September, labor activists accused Western clients of being too slow to implement safety standards adopted in the wake of the building collapse.

Highlighting such developments is another controversy -- this one over the attempted release of a film about the disaster.

Nazrul Islam Khan, 45, is a former garment factory owner turned filmmaker. His feature-length movie, titled "Rana Plaza," has been challenged in court and kept out of theaters in a tortuous saga that Khan is at a loss to explain.

"So many people are waiting for the picture -- so many people," Khan told the Nikkei Asian Review, glancing at screenwriter Mujtoba Saud. He added that many Bangladeshis keep asking him the same question: "When will it be released? When?"

On April 24, 2013, when the building collapsed and rescuers were trying to pull people out of the rubble, Khan rushed to the scene in Savar, about 18km north of Dhaka. In the following weeks, he kept returning. "I was present [in Savar] 17 days," he said. "I saw the scene. It was very tragic."

On his final day there, authorities hauled out alive a 19-year-old seamstress, Reshma Begum, from the wreckage. Begum, who later went to work in a hotel, told the media she had subsisted on packets of cookies, dried food and rainwater.

Asked why he chose to frame the story as a romantic plot, Saud compared it to the movie "Titanic."

"Love is a major subject in film," he said. "'Titanic'? It's a love story. But there is a disaster. It's a love story between a rich girl and a poor boy. But there is a conflict."

"Rana Plaza" took about a year to make. According to Khan's version of events, the trouble started when they submitted the finished film to the government's film censor board, a legacy of British colonial law. The board approved the movie on July 16.

About a month later, Sirajul Islam Rony, president of the Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League, filed a writ petition opposing the movie.

Gory scenes cut

"We feared that the film would have a massive negative impact on the industry," Rony said. "From the [perspective] of the workers, they might be horror-stricken if they watch the scenes of workers trapped inside the rubble, their limbs being chopped off to pull them out. They would have felt uncomfortable and traumatized."

He added that the film did not mention any of the "good changes happening in the industry at the moment," including the rise of trade union activity and ongoing fire and safety improvements.

On July 24, the country's High Court agreed with some of Rony's arguments and told the censor board to delete graphic scenes. Khan made the cuts. The film was ready to be shown in theaters, but Rony took the case back to court.

In August, screening was banned for six months. Khan appealed and won on Sept. 6. The battle appeared to be over and a date was set for showing "Rana Plaza" across the country at 76 theaters on Sept. 11. But one day before the film's debut, a judge overturned the previous decision.

After taking the case to the Supreme Court and winning, Khan's team set Sept. 25 as the official release date. On Sept. 17, however, the Ministry of Information stepped in, brandishing a directive from the government-backed film censor board ordering a "temporary suspension."

Down the memory hole?

The filmmakers were back where they started.

"The screening of the movie has been suspended by the film censor appeal committee until the decision comes from the appeal authority," said the order. "The screening of the film in movie theaters across Bangladesh has also been suspended. The order will be effective immediately."

The legal pingpong has convinced Khan that there are influential people who would rather see the Rana Plaza disaster fade into history instead of being presented, using famous Bangladeshi actors and actresses, to a mass audience. Khan has singled out the Ministry of Information as one possible opponent.

"Apart from the circular, we don't have anything else to comment on the film," said GN Nazmul Hossain, a ministry deputy secretary who signed the order. "It is now up to the appeal committee of the censor board to decide whether to allow screening of the film or not."

Khan and Saud are frustrated with the delays. The film cost about $250,000 to make, and the legal fees are mounting.

"I am still not clear why they are opposing the film. It is intended to raise public awareness about the rights and plights of garment workers, but sadly, they claim that it would tarnish the image of the industry," Khan said, citing the main argument against the film that has been used in the courts.

"Once, I was a garment factory owner and I love this country," he continued. "So there is no intention of hurting or defaming the industry and the country. All I wanted was to send out a message to make good changes to the industry. But we have become victims of misinterpretation."

While Saud hopes the film can be released within two months, Khan is less optimistic.

"I don't know when we would be able to screen it," Khan said. "Unless the government wants to clear it for public release, it is impossible for us to have it screened. We are facing a financial crisis because we have been unable to screen it. If we can't release it at all, it will be a disaster for us."

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