It’s exciting to read about a new film from Bangladesh, THE DIFFICULT BRIDE, directed by a woman, and set to premiere at Venice this year–a first for Bangladeshi cinema.  I was happy that director Rubaiyat Hossain referenced my work when discussing some of her influences and am excited to see her film!

The Difficult Bride and Rubaiyat Hossain’s Venice breakthrough | The Business Standard

Excerpt from the article:

“We wanted the audience to experience the protagonist’s inner world rather than merely watch it.”

Rather than rejecting mirrors, reflections and fragmented bodies, she sought to transform them into expressions of memory, trauma and interior experience rather than objectification. The film engages with ideas developed by feminist thinkers such as Laura Mulvey, Nina Menkes, bell hooks and Luce Irigaray — not to illustrate theory, but to embody these questions through cinematic form and emotion.

“My parents gave me the confidence to imagine a life as an artist. Their belief in me, particularly my father’s unwavering encouragement, continues to shape everything I create.”

Bangladeshis help build the modern world, yet their stories remain largely absent from world cinema. Increasingly, Rubaiyat’s work seeks to follow Bangladeshi lives across borders and explore migration, labour, belonging and home. The Difficult Bride is one chapter in a broader body of work.

“My future projects continue expanding these questions beyond Bangladesh while remaining rooted in Bangladeshi experience.”

When asked why this story had stayed with her for so long, she said:

“I have never believed that films arrive simply because we decide to make them. They come when they are ready.”