Mariyam screens at Religion Today Film Festival

Mariyam Brings a Story of Resistance to Italy’s Religion Today Film Festival

Bdbusinessdaily.com – Bangladeshi director Chaitali Somadder’s short drama Mariyam has reached another international audience with a screening at the Religion Today Film Festival in Italy. Running for around 30 minutes, the Bangla-language film centres on a teenage survivor of sexual violence and the difficult battle her family faces after the crime becomes known in their community.

The film follows Mariyam, a 14-year-old schoolgirl living in a village. Her world is transformed after she is assaulted, but the harm does not end with the attack. A video of the violence is circulated online, intensifying the trauma for Mariyam and placing her family under severe social pressure.

By addressing both sexual violence and the digital spread of intimate material, the story examines how a survivor can be exposed to further humiliation and isolation after a crime. Mariyam’s experience is not portrayed as an incident affecting only one person; the narrative also considers the impact on her mother, her household and their position within the wider village.

A mother’s refusal to accept injustice

The conflict deepens when a village arbitration orders Mariyam to marry the man accused of assaulting her. Rather than accepting that decision, Mariyam’s mother rejects it and seeks assistance from the police. Her response becomes a central part of the film’s emotional and social struggle.

This decision gives Mariyam its core tension: the effort to pursue justice while confronting expectations imposed by others. The film explores the pressure that can surround families when community-led decisions are presented as final, even when those decisions deny the survivor’s dignity and rights.

Somadder’s film does not limit its attention to the act of violence itself. It gives weight to the consequences that follow, including stigma, public judgment, fear and the difficulty of resisting a collective demand. Mariyam’s mother emerges as a figure of determination, choosing legal help over an outcome she believes is unacceptable.

Festival recognition at home and abroad

Mariyam was written, directed and produced by Chaitali Somadder. Saiful Islam Panna, Jannatul Preety and Baishaki Somadder appear in important roles.

The Religion Today Film Festival screening continues a festival journey that has included recognition in Bangladesh as well as overseas. At the Fest5 International Film Festival 2025, the short received the Community & Culture Award. The honour reflects the film’s engagement with issues that extend beyond its individual characters, including the way communities respond to survivors and their families.

In Bangladesh, Mariyam was named Best Short Film at the National Film Awards 2023. It was later included in the Women Filmmakers Section at the 24th Dhaka International Film Festival 2026. Together, these appearances have brought the film to viewers in different settings while maintaining focus on a distinctly Bangladeshi village environment.

Why the film’s themes matter

The circulation of a video after Mariyam’s assault adds another dimension to the film’s portrayal of violence. Digital sharing can turn a private trauma into a source of continuing exposure, giving social stigma an online life as well as an offline one. In the film, this escalation leaves Mariyam and her family increasingly isolated from those around them.

The story also asks viewers to consider the consequences of resolving serious crimes through community pressure rather than through a survivor-centred pursuit of justice. The proposed marriage in Mariyam is not presented as a solution to the harm done. Instead, it becomes another burden placed on the girl who has already suffered violence.

At the heart of the drama is a young person whose choices are constrained by adults, social expectations and public judgment. Alongside her, her mother’s refusal offers a different path: one based on challenging the decision and turning to law enforcement. That contrast allows the film to explore resistance without simplifying the emotional cost of taking such a stand.

For international festival audiences, the film offers a compact but serious account of how violence can be compounded by silence, shame and social exclusion. Its setting is specific, yet its central concerns—survivor safety, family support, online abuse and the demand for accountability—are readily understood across borders.

A continuing journey for a Bangladeshi short film

The Italian screening adds another chapter to Mariyam’s growing presence on festival platforms. As a short film, it tells its story within a limited running time, but its subject carries broad implications. The narrative insists that the aftermath of sexual violence deserves as much attention as the crime itself, particularly when a survivor is pressured to bear the consequences imposed by others.

With its focus on Mariyam and her mother, the film places personal courage against a larger social force. It presents a struggle shaped by fear and isolation, while also showing the significance of refusing to accept an unjust outcome. Through that perspective, Mariyam continues to bring a story of survival, family solidarity and resistance to audiences in Bangladesh and beyond.