‘Rickshaw Girl’ wins top prize at Chicago film festival

Noted filmmaker Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s ‘Rickshaw Girl’ has won the ‘Best of Fest Award’ at the 39th Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (CICFF).  

A total of 304 feature films from 54 countries participated in the festival. Of them, 65 films have been given the award. ‘Rickshaw Girl’ has secured the top spot.

Earlier, the film won the Filem’OnKids Award at the 16th International Film Festival for Young Audiences in Brussels. ‘Rickshaw Girl’ also won the SLM Top Award at the 26th SCHLINGEL Int’l Film Festival in Germany in October.

The film had previously been at Mill Valley Film Festival in the USA, and Durban International Film Festival in South Africa.

Novera Rahman has acted in the title role of ‘Rickshaw Girl’. The film stars Momena Chowdhury, Allen Shuvro, Champa and Naresh Bhuiyan.

Synopsis of the film: Daring and determined, teenage girl Naima longs to earn money for her poor Bangladeshi family, but her unrivaled artistic talent is of little use. When her father falls seriously ill, Naima feels she has no choice but to leave her small village for the bright lights of Dhaka.

In the big city, Naima finds the same economic, societal, and gender pressures faced by most young girls in Bangladesh. She cleverly disguises herself as a boy and takes the difficult job of a rickshaw puller. When her gender is revealed and her livelihood vanishes, Naima finds an unconventional solution to her problems.

‘Rickshaw Girl’ is based on the acclaimed novel by Mitali Perkins.