A Rohingya girl fights for her right to education in the world’s largest refugee camp. Dreaming of a life in Canada, where she can study, will she be the one in a million to break free?

On behalf of Director Rishabh Raj Jain and the rest of the film production team, Shafiqur Rahman (Line Producer/Translator) will be presenting an intimate screening of 'A Dream Called Khushi' at VENTspace on the 28th of June for invited guests and film industry professionals. Shafiqur is seeking insight, advice and collaboration on his plans for Australian-wide public screenings and release of the film, which has already been screened and awarded in film festivals in USA & Canada (including winning a 2024 Student Academy Award and a 2025 College Television Academy Award).

After the screening (runtime of 35 minutes), there will be a Q&A session with Shafiqur and guests will be invited to mingle at VENTspace and discuss the potential future for 'A Dream Called Khushi' in Australia. Drinks will be available at the bar and the venue will close at 6pm. Please be advised that parking is not provided.

FILM SYNOPSIS:

Khushi, 24, is one of more than a million Rohingya refugees living in Southern Bangladesh. Rohingya are persecuted minority ethnic group who have fled from Myanmar, where they faced multiple genocides from the majority-Buddhist military junta. Khushi believed education was the only solution to help her community.

But Rohingya refugees aren’t allowed to study in Bangladesh. Like other Rohingya, Khushi had to hide her identity and forge papers to get into school. Later, she faced heat when her identity was exposed on social media. The Bangladeshi host community saw her educational pursuit as an illegal attempt to assimilate into the Bangladeshi society. She was suspended from college for being Rohingya. But she never gave up.

FILM DETAILS:

Year: 2024

Length: 35min

Countries of production: USA, Bangladesh, India

Genre: Short Documentary

Format: DCP 4K, colour, 5.1

Languages: Rohingya, English

Subtitles: English

DIRECTOR'S BIOGRAPHY:

Rishabh Raj Jain is a new filmmaker and alumnus of New York University's News and Documentary graduate program. He previously worked as a videojournalist at the Associated Press covering the South Asian subcontinent from 2015 to 2022. His debut short documentary won the 2024 Student Academy Award and the 2025 College Television Academy Award.

Jain believes the most compelling stories are found in places often ignored by mainstream media. He feels at home listening to people at the bottom of the pyramid and finds immense inspiration from their lives.

His coverage of the Rohingya refugee crisis won the Overseas Press Club of America’s 2017 Hal Boyle Award. A Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting Grantee, Jain was also one of three nominees for the Young Talent of the Year Award by the Royal Television Society in 2019.

DIRECTOR's STATEMENT:

"This film is a sort of culmination of seven intense years in video journalism in a part of the world, and about a community, very close to my heart. Departing from journalistic neutrality into emotive cinema for the first time, I put my heart and soul in this one.”

Contact the host of INDUSTRY SCREENING: A Dream Called Khushi (Short Documentary)

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