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Channeling real-life stories that Bangladeshi filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain encountered as a women's rights activist, this empowering, layered drama shines a light on an oppressive industry, and demands our attention.

Synopsis

UK + Ireland: tune in to watch the film along with us on Curzon Home Cinema
Click HERE to watch a Q&A with filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain, Nisha Varia, Advocacy Director, Women’s Rights Division, HRW, moderated by Annie Kelly, journalist & editor, Guardian Modern-day Slavery in Focus
 
Film description: Shimu works gruelling hours for paltry pay in a clothing factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. After a fire in the factory leaves a co-worker dead, Shimu is moved to start a union. Her attempts are met with resistance at every step, not just from her patriarchal employers but also her colleagues, who fear losing their jobs. In the face of threats from management and violent disapproval of her husband, Shimu discovers a wealth of courage and tenacity she didn’t know she had. Channeling real-life stories that Bangladeshi filmmaker Rubaiyat Hossain encountered as a women's rights activist, this empowering, layered drama shines a light on an oppressive industry and demands our attention.

 “One hundred years ago in Bangladesh, women had to live in seclusion. Today, they are working, they are making a living for themselves and their families, and they are fighting within the factory and at home for their rights.”

- Rubaiyat Hossain, director, Made in Bangladesh

 UK Advisory (12A)

“Made in Bangladesh is a poignant story about the struggles of women who work in garment factories, trying to eke out a living while simultaneously fighting for dignity at work and home. It’s a film that every consumer should watch and begin to scrutinize the brands they buy.” 
- Aruna Kashyap, Senior Researcher, Women's Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

To learn more on this topic visit HRW.org

Credits

Rubaiyat Hossain

Director

Rubaiyat Hossain is one of Bangladesh's handful of female filmmakers, known for her critically acclaimed debut feature film Meherjaan (2011) which faced political and cultural wrath in Bangladesh for its anti war narrative, and its critic of masculine nationalism from a feminine point of view. Her second feature film Under Construction (2015) premiered at New Directors Showcase at Seattle International Film festival and was theatrically released and well received in Bangladesh. Her third feature film Made in Bangladesh (2019), premiered at Toronto International Film Festival and distributed by Pyramide Films. Rubaiyat uses a feminist lens to deconstruct the otherwise phallocentric institution of cinema. Rubaiyat has completed her B.A. in Women Studies from Smith College, USA and M.A. in South Asian Studies from University of Pennsylvania. Currently she lives between Dhaka and New York making films and attending Tisch School of Arts at New York University in Cinema Studies.