The Ice Cream Sellers - Screening and Q&A with film director Sohel Rahman

The film The Ice Cream Sellers (2021, 75mn) is a human story of the Rohingya people - 'the most persecuted minority in the world. The film invites the audience to become a part of the journey of two young siblings Ayas (10) and Asia (8) across the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, just as the director himself was invited and received intimate access to their journey of life. The director takes the audience around the incredibly hot, dusty camp that stretches as far as the eye can see. The film portrays a story of tragedy and loss, courage, and suffering in the attempt by the two siblings to earn enough money to bribe officials for the release of their father from prison in Myanmar. The Ice Cream Sellers is a timely, relevant, and significant film, especially as it gives an insightful context to the Rohingya refugee community and their lives in Bangladesh, five years on from the onslaught of violence they experienced in August 2017.

Please join us for an opportunity to watch this film and engage in an important discussion about South Asian studies, migration and refugees, human rights, social justice, and the Rohingya community.

The screening will be followed by a conversation with Sohel Rahman (joining via Zoom), facilitated by Professor Bina D'Costa from ANU South Asia Research Institute.

About the director:

Sohel Rahman is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and producer based in Lisbon, Portugal. His films have been screened internationally in various film festivals and universities around the world. Sohel received the best feature documentary film award from South Asian Film Festival of Montreal, Canada in 2021, and from Tasveer South Asian Film Festival, Seattle in 2021 for his film The Ice Cream Sellers (2021).

Born in Chittagong, Bangladesh, Sohel’s love of visual art, literature, and storytelling drew him to filmmaking early in life. Sohel teaches film in different universities and institutes in Portugal and Bangladesh as an invited filmmaker.

This event, hosted by the ANU South Asia Research Institute and Myanmar Research Centre, is supported by Professor Bina D’Costa’s Australian Research Council grant.

Light refreshments at 4pm
Film screening, and Q & A session at 4.30pm

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