A House for Shahana follows the turbulent life of Dipa, a young divorced woman whose refusal to suffer silently makes her a misfit in a rural town in 90s Bangladesh.
She is raised by weak and ineffectual parents in a peculiar family dynamic dominated by her maternal uncle and aunt. Under their authority, Dipa is married off to a widower in England. Dipa suffers, refuses to settle, and eventually escapes.
Seven years later, Dipa has become a transformed and confident professional, yet she still must fight the social stigma and the burden of “ family honour ” to live on her own terms.
"The heart of A House Named Shahana lies in its story; every character in the film emerges from our surroundings. We know and recognise them in our homes, families, and society. My approach to this film is to show that ordinary life is full of consequential drama, so the making does not need to embellish it. Visually I have tried to give a glimpse of the vastness of life against the continual claustrophobic presence of societal rules." -- Leesa Gazi (director/writer)