Juboraj Shamim returns to Moscow Int’l Film Festival with new film
Filmmaker Juboraj Shamim is set to return to the Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) with his latest feature film, “Atal”. According to a recent press release, the film has been selected for the “Apocalypse Now” section of the 48th edition of the festival.
Previously, Shamim’s debut feature “Adim” was screened at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival, where it received both the Special Jury Award and the NETPAC Jury Award.
Although “Atal” has not been selected for the main competition this year, Shamim confirmed that the film will compete in the NETPAC Competition category.
“Atal” marks the director’s second full-length feature, exploring the psyche of a man grappling with an existential crisis. Speaking about the film, Shamim said it portrays a character who often feels as though he is living a posthumous existence, or inhabiting someone else’s unfinished life, where time and the surrounding world seem suspended.
The film is the first full-length production under Shamim’s banner, Dorbar Sharif. It stars Naeem Tushar, an addiction professional and passionate photographer, who also served as the film’s cinematographer.
Reflecting on the filmmaking process, Shamim described “Atol” as a deeply collaborative journey: “It’s essentially a journey shared by the two of us. We travelled to various places on a scooter, setting up a camera wherever we felt a connection. Once Tushar fixed the camera and stepped in front of it, my role was simply to switch it on and off. I see filmmaking as akin to poetry—no one questions the budget of a poem; what matters is the process and the lived experience behind it. Likewise, for me, the artistic process takes precedence over budget, casting, or even narrative.”
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On premiering his second film again in Moscow, Shamim shared an anecdote: “When I visited Moscow in 2023 as a jury member, I had a long conversation with the festival’s programme director, Ivan Kudryavtsev. He told me that just as children wait eagerly for their mother’s next story, they were waiting for my next film. While I was moved, I had planned to premiere my next work elsewhere. Interestingly, although Atol was selected for several major festivals, including IFFI Goa, I declined in hopes of a ‘better’ festival, as two major European festivals had the film under consideration, which ultimately didn’t materialise.”
He further revealed that he had initially intended to withdraw “Atal” from Moscow due to personal reasons and even sent an email to that effect. “But interestingly, the film was never officially rejected. That’s when I realised—Moscow was its destination.”
The 48th Moscow International Film Festival will run from April 16 to 23. Shamim and Naeem Tushar are scheduled to leave for Moscow on April 16, with “Atal” set to be screened on April 19.
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