‘Khudi Bari’ and ‘F Minor: Voice of Freedom’ have been selected for the final round of the Proposal Pitch category at the NHK Japan Prize 2026
Published : 10 November 2026
•Updated : 10 November 2026, 16:44
•<a href="https://comicvibe.com/vote-for-entertainment-show-in-the-2027-tv-choice-awards/” title=”Vote for Entertainment Show in the 2027 TV Choice Awards”>ENTERTAINMENT
Arts & Entertainment Desk
Two Bangladeshi documentaries, “Khudi Bari” and “F Minor: Voice of Freedom”, have been selected for the final round of the Proposal Pitch category at the NHK Japan Prize 2026, organised by Japan’s national broadcaster NHK.
“Khudi Bari”, being made by independent filmmaker Md Hasanul Huq Jacky under Adamant Studios, focuses on the lives of people in Bangladesh’s riverine and char areas, where floods and river erosion repeatedly destroy homes and force families to relocate.
At the centre of the documentary is Jharna, a resident of a char area, for whom architect Marina Tabassum has designed a small, low-cost house that can be built easily and moved in the event of a natural disaster. The film explores the impact of climate change on communities living along rivers and in chars, as well as their struggle to secure a stable home.
Jacky previously received recognition for his documentary “The Story of the Dew”.
The second Bangladeshi finalist, “F Minor: Voice of Freedom”, is being made by Mahafuza Aktar under the banner of Channel i. The documentary follows F Minor, a women’s band comprising five members from Bangladesh’s small ethnic communities.
The film explores the musicians’ personal lives, musical practice and efforts to establish themselves as a band. It also looks at the challenges they face as young women pursuing music while seeking to build independent lives and careers.
Aktar previously received a fellowship from the Radio Netherlands Training Centre and served as a judge in a television programme-making competition organised by Germany’s Prix Jeunesse Foundation. Her previous recognitions include Colors of Asia in 2017, One Asia in 2018 and the PMA Global Grant in 2019.
Alongside the two Bangladeshi projects, one project each from Indonesia, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia has been selected for the six-project Proposal Pitch final.
The Japan Prize 2026 winners in the Best Work category include Ireland’s “Maddy Plus Triggs Dogs with Jobs”, Taiwan’s “Pai Pai Typhoons Coming”, the Greece-France-Denmark co-production “Bugboy” and the Denmark-Czech Republic production “Mr Nobody Against Putin”. The Award of Honors went to “Mixmaps the Hurry Up Sandwich” from the UK, Australia’s “Replica” and the Japan-Switzerland co-production “Colorful: Friends Around the World”. Australia’s “Tales from Quarter Suburbia Moonfish” received the Special Prize.
The Japan Prize Festival will be held in Tokyo from November 16 to 19. The winner of the Proposal Pitch category will be announced at the awards ceremony on the final day.
NHK has organised the Japan Prize since 1965 to encourage the production of educational programmes. This year, 413 contents and proposals from 59 countries and regions were submitted to the competition.
