A second $10,000 award is granted to the Indian filmmaker Ajimesh Saha for his project An Insignia of a Forced Winter

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Abdul, a Rohingya Muslim, escapes genocide and flees from his country Myanmar. Almost killed, he somehow manages to sneak into India in search of a new hope and life. But India doesn’t want any Rohingya Muslim on its soil. The film captures Abdul at this juncture and follows his journey in India where he lives as an illegal immigrant under constant threat of deportation.

While he deals with his inner and outer conflicts of living a life of statelessness, in one night, all of a sudden, the entire Rohingya camp in New Delhi is burnt down to ashes allegedly by a youth wing party affiliated to the present regime of India. This devastates Abdul and he loses all his hope to live for.

As he struggles with life, he falls in love with Rujina, another victim of Rohingya genocide who lives in Bangladesh. Abdul and Rujina have never met with each other in person. With much difficulty, risking their lives they finally meet and get married. But the situation turns dangerous as they start living together with their new-born baby in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. Will they be able to move out of the camp, the condition of which is deteriorating every day? Will they be able to find a home ever?