Bangladesh Selects ‘A House Named Shahana’ as Oscar Entry

Bangladesh’s Oscar committee has chosen Leesa Gazi’s debut feature “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House Named Shahana”) as its submission for the best international feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards.

Based on Gazi’s 2011 novella, the film is set in rural Bangladesh in the 1990s and follows Dipa, a young woman forced into a marriage with a widower in England. After enduring abuse, she returns home as a divorcee and confronts the entrenched patriarchal attitudes of her community while pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. The drama charts her gradual journey from vulnerability to self-determination.

The film, produced by Komola Collective and Goopy Bagha Productions Limited, stars Aanon Siddiqua as Dipa, delivering a breakout performance that anchors the narrative. She is joined by veteran actors Lutfur Rahman George and Iresh Zaker, alongside Kazi Ruma, Kamrunnahar Munni, Mugdhota Morshed Wriddhi, Amirul Haque Chowdhury, Naila Azad, Arif Islam,…