Indian festival favorite and box office hit “Dostojee” (“Two friends“), directed by Prasun Chatterjee will be released in the United States, United Arab Emirates, Australia and New Zealand on March 17.
California-based film distribution company Bioskope Films LLC has acquired theatrical rights in the United States and will release the film in 75 cities in 26 states. The theatrical release is an Oscar qualifying run making the Bengali-language “Dostojee” eligible for consideration at the 96th Academy Awards, 2024. The film will have a New York premiere.
“Dostojee” will also be theatrically released in 15 cities in Canada, 10 cities in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ajman in the UAE. Phars Film Co Motion Pictures will handle distribution in the UAE and Bongoz Films Australia and New Zealand. .
Set in 1992-1993, when tensions between Hindus and Muslims escalated in India following the demolition of the Babri Masjid and bombings in Bombay and spread to a remote village on the border between India and Bangladesh, the film follows the friendship of two eight-year-old boys. Palash (Asik Shaikh), the son of a Hindu Brahmin, and Safikul (Arif Shaikh), whose father is a Muslim weaver, are best friends, but fate intervenes.
The World of Film had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival 2021, and after traveling to 32 film festivals in 26 countries and winning eight international awards, it was theatrically released in India in November 2022 and proved to be a box office hit over a span of 12 years. race week. Previously he participated in the Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum and the Indian laboratory Film Bazaar from where it went to the Cannes Film Market as part of the “Film Bazaar Goes to Cannes” initiative.
In January, Channel 4 has acquired broadcast and streaming rights in the UK and Ireland.
Acclaimed South Asian films previously distributed in the United States by Bioskope include Mostofa Aarwar Farooki’s “Doob: No Bed of Roses” and Amitabh Reza Chowdhury’s “Rickshaw Girl”.
“Childhood is the purest form of your being, and a friendship bonded in childhood is as pure as the origins of the oldest rivers. At Bioskope Films, we believe ‘Dostojee’ is a gem among pebbles. The film’s universal appeal transcends borders, races, divisions between people. And that’s why the film deserves a diaspora as well as global audiences – the film with that magical appeal,” said Raj Hameed, CEO of Bioskope Films LLC.
“After watching ‘Dostojee’, we all felt this film had the right ingredients and appeal to stand in a class of its own – a film that deserves the highest of accolades. That’s why the movie deserves a shot at the Oscars,” Hameed added.
Chatterjee added, “I can’t explain my feeling in words. This happened thanks to the honest and hard work of my team members. I’m really grateful to Raj Hameed and Naushaba Rashid of Biskope Films for this US theatrical release. I hope American audiences will like the film. Looking forward to exploring the ocean of opportunities with Bioskope Films.