EXCLUSIVE: Global production and sales company EST N8 has secured worldwide rights, excluding Bangladesh, to Rezwan Shahriar Sumit’s political drama Master, which won the Big Screen Award at this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Sumit’s sophomore film, Master is the first film from Bangladesh to win a top award at a major European film festival, signaling the arrival of a “New Wave” of Bangladeshi filmmakers with the potential to achieve critical and commercial acclaim in global markets. 

Inspired by real events, the film revolves around Jahir, a popular high school history teacher, who launches a bold, liberal campaign for district chairman, championing education and women’s rights. However, as he ascends through local political networks, his moral foundations begin to crumble. Nasir Uddin Khan plays the teacher who discovers how easily power corrupts. 

IFFR’s Big Screen jury hailed the drama for its unflinching portrayal of how the machinery of power reshapes the human spirit. 

Sumit also won acclaim for his debut feature, The Salt In Our Waters (2021), which swept the Bangladesh National Film Awards, winning Best Film and Director.

The deal for world rights for Master was brokered by Sophie Shi, EST N8’s Head of Studios, and Cathy Ni, Head of Sales and U.S. Distribution, who will introduce the film to buyers in Cannes. 

“Master is a defining piece of Asian cinema that bridges the gap between high-concept thriller and grounded social commentary,” said Shi. “Sumit has captured a global zeitgeist through a uniquely Bangladeshi lens. We are eager to leverage this momentum as we head into the Cannes market with our mission to elevate sophisticated Asian stories onto the international stage.” 

Sumit added: “It is incredibly humbling to see how a film rooted in the local politics of Bangladesh is resonating so powerfully on the global stage. It proves that whether in a forested hinterland or a global metropole, the struggle for integrity and the human cost of power is a universal story.” 

Master is produced by Dhaka-based mypixelstory, a boutique studio with films that have screened across BFI London, Busan, NYFF, AFI Fest, Göteborg and São Paulo film festivals. 

UK-based Kwanon Films, the production house behind Chaplin: Spirit Of The Tramp, boarded Master as executive producer ahead of its IFFR premiere.

In a joint statement, Kwanon Films’ Ashim Bhalla and Carmen Chaplin said: “The historic victory at IFFR validates what we saw in Rezwan Shahriar Sumit – a bold voice with a universal story. EST N8’s deep-rooted expertise makes them the ideal partner to translate this success into the international distribution it deserves.” 

EST N8 Cannes slate also include Indonesian hit horror films Danur: The Last Chapter, directed by Awi Suryadi, and Janur Ireng from Kimo Stamboel; Tetsuya Mariko’s Dear Stranger, starring Hidetoshi Nishijima (Drive My Car) and Gwei Lun-Mei (Black Coal, Thin Ice); Raindance-selected The Invisible Half, and Julie Pacino’s I Live Here Now.

Cate Blanchett is diving deeper into the fashion business — on the big screen.

The Oscar-winning actress and her production company Dirty Pictures with Andrew Upton and Coco Francini have boarded the documentary adaptation of Dana Thomas’ book Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes, being directed by noted auteur Reiner Holzemer.

The project, which is moving into the financing phase, investigates the $3 trillion global fashion industry by examining the “environmental and human cost of an industry built on speed and scale while spotlighting the designers and innovators reshaping the system,” per the filmmakers. It is based on Thomas’s book of the same name, which was named The Independent’s best fashion book on sustainability and was hailed by The New Yorker as “a glimpse into how consumerism, slowed to a less ferocious pace, might be reconciled with sustainability.”

The Fashionopolis doc will feature access to leading voices across the industry, including designers, policymakers, labor activists and innovators who are said to be driving systemic change.

It’s a subject close to home for Blanchett, who has often used her voice and red carpet appearances to shine a spotlight on sustainability and eco-conscious business practices. The same can be said of Holzemer, who previously helmed documentaries about boldfaced names from fashion, theater and photography. His credits include Martin Margiela: In His Own Words, Dries about acclaimed Belgian designer Dries Van Noten, Thom Browne: The Man Who Tailors Dreams, Lars Eidinger about the German actor and artist and Leica – A Century of Vision about the cultural significance of the camera and its impact on visual history.

It’s also squarely in Thomas’s wheelhouse as a leading fashion writer who has long examined sustainability in the industry. She is a longtime contributor to The New York Times and host of The
Green Dream, an award-winning sustainability podcast. She has dipped her toes into the film industry by scripting Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams, a feature doc directed by Luca Guadagnino, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020. She also penned the tome Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster which was adapted for the docuseries Kingdom of Dreams. When Fashionpolis debuted, Publishers Weekly called it a “thoroughly reported and persuasively written” and a “clarion call for more responsible practices in fashion will speak to both industry professionals and socially conscious consumers.”

Thomas is writing and producing the Fashionopolis documentary alongside another noted fashion writer and industry insider, Bronwyn Cosgrave. Her credits include co-producing The Super Models, the Apple TV project that traced the modeling careers of superstars Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, and producing Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes For Lizards and Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story. Danielle Perissi (Anbessa, Every Last Child, Lights of Rome) is on board as an executive producer.

“At its heart, Fashionopolis is a film about possibility — about the belief that fashion can transform itself into a more responsible, more beautiful future,” Holzemer said. “Throughout my career, I have been drawn to fashion for its artistry and creativity. With Fashionopolis, I want to shift my lens toward the changemakers reimagining fashion from within. My goal is not to point fingers, but to portray stories that inspire dialogue and spark hope.”

Added Thomas: “We meet designers, activists, and innovators working to change fashion from within — and reveal how everyday choices can help build a more just and beautiful future.”

Dirty Films produces genre-spanning work for TV and film and is behind the award-winning podcast Climate of Change. The company’s credits include Mrs. America, Stateless, Truth, Carol, Little Fish, Apples and The Turning, and more.

The winners of the inaugural Gold Rush Pictures Berlinale Talents Lab Awards have been unveiled, with projects from emerging filmmakers Marcel Beltrán, Subarna Dash, and Aliaksei Paluyan being picked by a jury from a pool of 18 submissions.

Each winner receives a grant of €5,000 ($5,820), as well as support for their stay at the Cannes Film Festival, which is currently underway.  

The awards are organized by international independent production company and financier Gold Rush Pictures (GRP) in partnership with the Berlinale Talents Lab, the Berlin International Film Festival’s filmmaker development program.  
 
The awards were judged by a jury appointed by GRP, composed of British screenwriter and director Rebecca Lenkiewicz (Hot Milk, She Said), Austrian-German auteur and producer Feo Aladag (When We Leave, Inbetween Worlds) and German director and producer Tom Tykwer (The Light, Run Lola Run). The awards will be presented at the Berlinale Talents Rendezvous, which unites more than 100 alumni of the program for a special event hosted by ARTE and Berlinale Talents.   

“The awards mark the growing collaboration between GRP and Berlinale Talents, with GRP also becoming a co-partner of Berlinale Talents as of 2027 and 2028, marking the first time that an independent production company has supported the Berlinale Talents Lab as a co-partner,” the partners said.
 
“We partnered with Berlinale Talents because they are a vital engine for artistic discovery – and we’re very proud to share our first three awardees under this grant. Marcel, Subarna, and Aliaksei are all exceptionally talented, each bringing a distinctive voice and projects brimming with potential – and it’s a privilege to support their films as they come to fruition, and to welcome them to Cannes this year,” said Vladimir Zemtsov, founder of Gold Rush Pictures.
 
The jury of the inaugural honors said: “The Gold Rush Pictures Berlinale Talents Lab Awards celebrate projects where a distinctive artistic voice meets true urgency. From a strong and diverse field of 18, the jury selected three that combine bold vision with emotional precision and a clear sense of authorship. These are films that transform personal stories into resonant cinematic experiences.”

Here is more detail from the jury on the winners.
 
Vicissitudes of Light (director Marcel Beltrán)  
“A gripping and highly original archival documentary by Marcel Beltrán that interrogates the power of images and the fragility of authorship. Through an approach that allows a silenced artistic voice to reemerge, it moves between memory, erasure, and reconstruction, exploring the moment when image-making itself becomes a threat, and when the system an artist helped shape turns against its creator. With striking contemporary relevance, the project speaks directly to our present moment of contested images and controlled narratives. Rich in wonder and mystery, it raises profound questions about society, art, and legacy, and promises a film of both intellectual and emotional depth and lasting impact.” 
 
Incubator (director Aliaksei Paluyan)  
“A striking and deeply human portrait by Aliaksei Paluyan of a woman pushed to the edge by political and economic realities beyond her control. As politics and love converge, the film traces a journey marked by resilience, heartbreak, and the impossible choices forced upon women in extremis. Its authenticity and urgency struck us. It promises to be both intimately intense, whilst epic and universal in its subject matter. Incubator is profoundly resonant and has the potential to translate lived experience into powerful cinema.” 
 
In Heat, on Loop (director Subarna Dash)  
“A bold and exhilarating animated project by Subarna Dash that leaps off the page and announces a singular cinematic voice. It unfolds as an outrageously exciting mix of genre, style, and self-exploration. With its striking originality, emotional depth, passion and inventive visual language, it promises a film that is both surprising and deeply personal. Infused with amazing colors and sensuality, it is a startling, muscular and beautiful vision we are keen to see fully realized on screen.”