Dhaka: Partition of India in 1947 was one of the most significant historical milestones of the Indian subcontinental region in the twentieth century, killing tens of thousands of civilians and displacing millions causing the largest mass migration of human history. Even after nearly seven decades it continues to impact regional politics and social dynamics.

In order to set the mood for the exchange project My Parents’ World — Inherited Memories, Goethe-Institut Bangladesh is presenting a selection of Indian filmmaker Supriyo Sen’s work dealing with partition from various perspectives.

On Sunday last (16 August), a film titled Way Back Home was screened at Goethe-Institut auditorium.

On 23 August two more films will be screened at 6:00pm at the same venue.

The storyline of one of the films Wagah is: every evening, the only border crossing along the 3323 km frontier between India and Pakistan becomes the site of an extraordinary event. Border guards on both sides orchestrate a parade to lower the flags. Thousands of people gather to witness the ritual and afterwards the masses move as close to the gate as possible to greet their former neighbours.

The film looks through the eyes of three children who sell DVDs of the parade to the onlookers. With a dream of crossing the border they remain quite unmoved by all the ‘patriotic’ madness around them.

Hope Dies Last in War is another film to be screened.

This is a story of 54 Indian soldiers taken as Prisoners of War during the Indo-Pak war of 1971 who are yet to return home. While waiting for them, some of the parents died, some of the wives remarried and some children lost hope and committed suicide. But the real ordeal has been for those who did not give up. For them life has become a tight rope walking between hope and despair. But they have fought the mental battle of attrition for almost four decades and are still not willing to resign.

This film is a saga of these families' struggle, spanning three generations, to get their men back. It records a tragic stalemate, sufferings of love and shining moments of humanity, courage and hope.

Supriyo Sen is one of the leading Independent documentary filmmakers from India, he has produced and directed feature and short documentaries such as Wait Until Death, The Dream of Hanif, The Nest, Way Back Home, Hope Dies Last in War, Rupban — The beautiful, Wagah etc. Supriyo has won 36 International awards for his films.