Small Fry, Big Catch
Bangladesh is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of shrimp, harvesting an estimated 20,000 tonnes each year. Half of that finds its way to Europe, and a quarter to American restaurants and supermarkets. It is a major industry – employing some 750,000 people and generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually, crucial revenue for an...
Dowry Deaths
At first we couldn’t believe the statistics. Nearly 200 deaths in 2009. 48 in the first three months of this year. Women – most of them, young and in the prime of their lives – beaten, strangled, burnt, kicked, tortured, drowned, starved, hacked… to death. Because of their husbands and in-laws’ greed. What on earth...
Maestro’s Daughters – The Film
It was a real privilege making this, and getting to know Ruba, Tungtang, Ama and the Maestro. A huge thank-you to Fiona, for helping us tell this story.
June Update
Hello. It’s been a while. We’re sorry we’ve been scarce. Things just got a little hectic here. We’re buried in work… slowly trying to dig our way out. And of course we’re still reeling from the outcome of Vui Kong’s case. Mad, sad May. We’re hoping June will be a little better. We also spent...
The Maestro’s Daughters
Our nerves were frayed by the time we got to Braman Baria. The ride had been long and somewhat bumpy, the roads overflowing with trucks and cars and one-legged beggars. We had not planned to stay with the Maestro’s family even though they’d insisted we should. We didn’t want to inconvenience them, or stretch their...
And So Another Story Goes Untold
For months, we told them we’d be back. “To tell the blind musician’s story!” We said. For months, they waited. We badly wanted to return. Ustad Afzalur Rahman and his two visually impaired daughters had in June this year, treated us to an afternoon of amazing music. We couldn’t stop talking about them. The old...
To The People Who Care
So we finished Migrant Dreams and The Human Trade and thought we’d hibernate for a bit. Rest. Recharge. Get a full night’s sleep. But sleep’s been tough. Post-production stress, maybe. The relentless pace of the past few months finally catching up on us. But it’s not just the work. It’s the fact that the problems...
The Human Trade
When were were making Migrant Dreams, one question that kept popping up was just why so many workers had to pay so much money for their jobs. The Human Trade documents our quest for an answer.
What Is Invisible To The Eye
The Maestro And His Daughters from Lianain Films on Vimeo. We had the honour of spending an afternoon with a truly amazing family during a recent trip to Bangladesh. Ustad Afzalur Rahman is perhaps the country’s most famous classical musician. A living treasure. A master of the sarod. He’s also blind. Has been since he...
Wahab Must Be Resting A Little Easier Now
First of all, thank you. All you generous people who got in touch after reading my previous post. I had hoped to raise S$300 for Nasrin. I now have S$720. Thank you. So much. We will send Nasrin the S$300 she needs for sewing lessons and a sewing machine, and donate the rest of the...
An Appeal, And A Thank-you Note
Women in Bangladesh are a cloistered lot. Most look after the house and take care of kids while their husbands go out to work. Some husbands, we’ve discovered, leave and never return. Or they leave and come back, dead. Or they leave, come back, and die unexpectedly. What happens then? Some women fall apart, get...
A Little Bit Of Hope
Three months ago, I wrote about a Bangladeshi worker who left his village for a job in Singapore, and returned home in a coffin. His widow, Maloti, was a mess when we met. She had sent her two older children to an orphanage. And she could barely take care of her youngest. Amazing how the...
