British and Bangladeshi Moving-Image Histories in Conversation
DHAKA, Bangladesh — August 2026: A scholarly lecture and discussion exploring the histories of artists’ film and moving-image practice in the UK and Bangladesh will take place on Sunday, 30 August 2026, from 5:00–7:00 PM at the British Council Auditorium, Dhaka.
Titled “Introverted Film: A History of Artists’ Film in the UK — Benjamin Cook in Conversation with Dr. Imran Firdaus,” the programme brings together Benjamin Cook, curator, producer and founding director of LUX, the UK organisation supporting artists working with moving image, and Dr. Imran Firdaus, filmmaker, film critic and Head of the Department of Media and Communication at Independent University, Bangladesh.
Cook will trace the development of British artists’ film during the 1960s and 70s, examining its political urgency, collective and community-based practices, and artists’ engagement with the material conditions of film. His lecture will also consider the enduring question of what constitutes artists’ film and how the field has been defined across different cultural contexts.
Responding from the perspective of Bangladesh, Dr. Firdaus will explore the country’s parallel histories of film societies, short-film movements, digital video and experimental moving-image practices. He will also address the significant institutional gaps in the preservation and support of artists’ moving image in Bangladesh.
Bringing these histories into dialogue, the programme will consider their unexpected parallels and differences, while asking how moving-image practices evolve in contexts shaped not only by cultural institutions but also by their absence.
Part of Midnight’s Third Child
The event is part of Midnight’s Third Child, a year-long research project organised and curated by Benjamin Cook and Kehkasha Sabah, supported by the British Council’s Connections Through Culture Grant, with Durjoy Bangladesh Foundation as a partial sponsor.
Taking its title from Naeem Mohaiemen’s Midnight’s Third Child (2020), the project examines Bangladesh’s moving-image histories and their relationship to wider postcolonial cultural narratives.
Event Details
Title: Introverted Film: A History of Artists’ Film in the UK — Benjamin Cook in Conversation with Dr. Imran Firdaus
Date: Sunday, 30 August 2026
Time: 5:00–7:00 PM
Venue: British Council Auditorium, 5 Fuller Road, Dhaka 1000
Programme: Illustrated lectures by Benjamin Cook and Dr. Imran Firdaus, followed by a discussion and open-floor Q&A. Refreshments will be provided.
RSVP Required: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/gQ5EVQ3T4h?origin=lprLink
The programme will be audio-visually documented. Attendees who do not wish to be photographed or recorded are requested to notify the organisers in advance.
Media Contact:
Kehkasha Sabah and Benjamin Cook
Project Curators, Midnight’s Third Child