The documentary film ‘Songs for a Country’ which is based on the famous ‘The Concert for Bangladesh’ of 1971 has been screened at the University of South Alabama, USA.
Three departments and one academic programme of the university jointly invited director Shamim Al Amin, and hosted the screening of the documentary for the students and faculties on September 12.
Shamim Al Amin, also a well-known Bangladeshi journalist and writer, replied to the queries of the audience after the show.
The Concert for Bangladesh was held on August 1 in 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, to raise international awareness of the Pakistani atrocities against Bengalis during the liberation war. George Harrison and
Pandit Ravi Shankar took the steps to organise the concert. The funds collected from the event were used for the refugees from the then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh.
Shamim Al Amin highlighted the context of this historic concert and said: "That grand event was the first charity concert in the history of the world. And its impact was far-reaching”.
He said that the concert was “a shining example of an outstanding event to stand by the people”.
He also paid tributes to George Harrison and Pandit Ravi Shankar and other artists for standing by the people of Bangladesh during that difficult time.
Chairman of the Department of Communications Prof Dr Pavica Sheldon, Chairman of the Political Science and Criminal Justice Department Prof Dr Philip Habel, Chairman of the Department of History Prof Dr David A Messenger, and Director of the International Studies Programme Dr Christine Rinne were present during the screening of the ‘Songs for a Country’.
Associate professor of the Department of Communications and president of the faculty senate Dr Delwar Hossain moderated the programme. Prof Sheldon presented a memento to Shamim Al Amin after the event.
This documentary was made in 2021 in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of ‘The Concert for Bangladesh’.
It has been screened in several US states, as well as the Mumbai and Ankara Film Festivals. Born and brought up in Dhaka, Shamim Al Amin is currently living in New York.
He worked with Bengali daily Prothom Alo, and was an anchor of Ekattor TV's prime time talk shows. He studied mass communication and journalism at the University of Dhaka and stood first in the Masters exam. He wrote 35 books.
There have been several showings of his documentary 'Songs for a Country' in Dhaka as well.