The director Mohammad Nuruzzaman, the cinematographer Mohammad Arifuzzaman, and the actors Fazlur Rahman and Deepak Suman introduced their film Beyond the Mast, participating in the Main Competition of the 47th Moscow International Film Festival.
A co-production involving three countries, the film tells the story of a cook named Old Makbul, who works aboard a river tanker carrying oil and treats the entire crew with kindness. However, the power-hungry helmsman suspects Makbul of being a spy for the ship’s owner and constantly harasses him. While the tanker is undergoing repairs in port, Makbul meets a young orphan boy named Noora. Meanwhile, the helmsman uses the downtime to smuggle oil, thereby eventually drawing the owner’s attention. During a surprise inspection, the ship owner is so impressed by Makbul’s cooking that he allows the stowaway orphan to stay on as his assistant. Desperate to cover up his misdeeds, the helmsman falsely accuses Noora of theft, creating tension within the crew.
Mohammad Nuruzzaman: "Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and this is reflected in our cinema through the ethnic and cultural diversity of the people on screen. When casting this film, I deliberately chose actors from opposite ends of the spectrum: from some of the most famous professionals in the country to complete amateurs who contributed their raw naturalness in front of the camera. What we aimed for was to portray real-life characters so they would feel completely authentic. In that sense, you could say the film is a blend of fiction and documentary — especially considering our cinematographer has a strong background in documentary filmmaking".
Mohammad Arifuzzaman: "The director is an old friend of mine, and when he invited me to work on this project, we quickly discovered we would have to shoot using a camera with one of the smallest lenses out there. Despite the challenges — including constant shaking and low available light — we managed to achieve the look and feel we were after. We relied on ambient illumination as much as possible, foregoing the use of lights, to preserve the realism of the image".
Deepak Goswami: "My character is someone you might come across in any country or social group. He doesn’t like helping others, and this was one of my first experiences playing a negative role. But I’m confident people like him exist everywhere".
A co-production involving three countries, the film tells the story of a cook named Old Makbul, who works aboard a river tanker carrying oil and treats the entire crew with kindness. However, the power-hungry helmsman suspects Makbul of being a spy for the ship’s owner and constantly harasses him. While the tanker is undergoing repairs in port, Makbul meets a young orphan boy named Noora. Meanwhile, the helmsman uses the downtime to smuggle oil, thereby eventually drawing the owner’s attention. During a surprise inspection, the ship owner is so impressed by Makbul’s cooking that he allows the stowaway orphan to stay on as his assistant. Desperate to cover up his misdeeds, the helmsman falsely accuses Noora of theft, creating tension within the crew.
Mohammad Nuruzzaman: "Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, and this is reflected in our cinema through the ethnic and cultural diversity of the people on screen. When casting this film, I deliberately chose actors from opposite ends of the spectrum: from some of the most famous professionals in the country to complete amateurs who contributed their raw naturalness in front of the camera. What we aimed for was to portray real-life characters so they would feel completely authentic. In that sense, you could say the film is a blend of fiction and documentary — especially considering our cinematographer has a strong background in documentary filmmaking".
Mohammad Arifuzzaman: "The director is an old friend of mine, and when he invited me to work on this project, we quickly discovered we would have to shoot using a camera with one of the smallest lenses out there. Despite the challenges — including constant shaking and low available light — we managed to achieve the look and feel we were after. We relied on ambient illumination as much as possible, foregoing the use of lights, to preserve the realism of the image".
Deepak Goswami: "My character is someone you might come across in any country or social group. He doesn’t like helping others, and this was one of my first experiences playing a negative role. But I’m confident people like him exist everywhere".