::: Star Insight :::

Celebrating Life Special

And the Winners Are

Saba El Kabir

After the weeks of madness leading up to the Celebrating Life Awards Ceremony, the relative calm of the Insight workspace feels almost too good to be true. Finally, some time to breathe, some space for sanity to return. Of course, in the grand scheme of things, all this is perhaps not all that important. What are important however, are the winners.

Picking out winners from the more than 100 entries in film category, 2,500 entries in photograph category and 3,500 entries in lyrics category was no easy task, and we have nothing but gratitude and respect for our judging panels, for the hours and days they have put into Celebrating Life. In all, 22 winners were selected from the lyrics and photography category.

Unfortunately, the judging panel this year was unable to select winning entries from the film category. We were of course disappointed with this unexpected and very much unwanted outcome, but it has only strengthened our resolve for next year's Celebrating Life. Next year, we will be more proactive in our approach towards this segment, organizing workshops and special sessions with veteran filmmakers to help budding filmmakers master their craft.


J. A. Akash Photographer 1st Place, Photography	Rajib Dhar Photographer 2nd Place, Photography	Tanwir Hasan Student, Bangladesh Medical 3rd Place, Photography

J. A. Akash, 1st Place, Photography

This photograph was taken from - at the risk of life and limb - the rooftop of a moving train. The woman is seen here doing her best to make ends meet, hitching a ride on the train back home, after collecting firewood from the Hathajari area of Chittagong. The photographer took over 200 shots to get it just right, and this shot was his, and the judges', favourite.

J.A. Akash is a Chittagong-based press photographer. He has been passionate about photography from a very early age and completed a professional course in photography after he graduated from high-school. Since then he has worked as a photojournalist for a number of Chittagong-based publications, and has won a number accolades both at home and abroad.

Rajib Dhar, 2nd Place, Photography

This shot was taken in Agoiljhara, Borishal. Having woken up in the morning, this was the sight that had the photographer scurrying for his camera. The lady, the grandmother of the acquaintance at whose house the photographer was staying, is seen here sitting infront of a windiw, taking in the sun and the sights of the morning.
Rajib Dhar is a freelance photographer. He has earned an honours degree in Journalism from Stamford, and has since then worked for both the television and print media.

Tanwir Hasan, 3rd Place, Photography

This shot was taken on the rooftop of photographer's residence in Dhaka. The idea behind the photograph was to show a married couple celebrating each other in their everyday lives.
Tanwir Hasan is completing his final years of studies at Bangladesh Medical. He has worked with student publications throughout his academic career, and despite the rigors of his medical studies, he hopes to be able to continue pursue his interest in photography.

The "Best Film" and "Debut Film" categories shall be made more distinct. The "Best Film" category shall remain as it is, however, length of films for the "Debut Film" category shall be shortened to between three to twelve minutes, encouraging experimentation and originality. We shall also introduce a special section, the Critic's Award, which shall recognize the best of 2009's TV and Film productions based on the following categories: Best Director, Best Fiction, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cameraperson, Best Editor, Best Music Score/Sound, Best Script, and Best Costume/Makeup.

Picking out winners was not our favorite part of Celebrating Life. So much, and so many, gets left out. If it were up to us, we would award every single one of our participants for their sheer enthusiasm, but unfortunately, we had to face reality. Celebrating Life 2010 is just around the corner however, and we would love to see your creative ideas take over again here at Star Insight.

Celebrating Life 2009 Winners

Photography Winners
Honorable Mention
Mohammed Mozammel Huq
4th Place, Photography
Dhaka

Bilash Bhusan Paul
5th Place, Photography
Dhaka

Jannatul Mawa
6th Place, Photography
Dhaka

Ali Ashraf Asik
7th Place, Photography
Chittagong

Abu Taher Khokon
8th Place, Photography
Dhaka
Md. Mahbubur Rahman
9th Place Place,
Photography
Dhaka

Habibul Haque
10th Place, Photography
Dhaka

Pranbesh Das
11th Place, Photography
Sylhet

Shoeb Faruquee
12th Place, Photography
Chittagong

Lyrics Winners

Syed Taufiq Zuhori
3rd Place, Lyrics
Rajshahi
Pijush Kanti Barua
4th Place, Lyrics
Chandrapur

Dulal Biswas
5th Place, Lyrics
Nazirpur

Atanu Tias
6th Place, Lyrics
Dhaka

Md. Faisal Alam
7th Place, Lyrics
Dhaka

Md. Jahangir Alam
8th Place, Lyrics
Dhaka

Channkya Baroi
9th Place, Lyrics
Dhaka

Jury Panel

FILM CATAGORY:
Tareque Masud
Shameem Akhter
Luva Nahid Chowdhury
Tanvir Haider Chowdhury
Amitabh Reza
Gousul Alam Shaon
Rafi Hossain

PHOTOGRAPHY CATAGORY:
Dr. Nawajesh Ahmed
Dr. Rashidur Nobi Shuvro
Enamul Karim Nirjhor
Abir Abdullah
Anila Haque
Raffat Binte Rashid
Bitopi Das

LYRICS CATAGORY:
Rafiquzzaman
Lutfor Rahman Riton
Sadya Afreen Mallik
Kabir Bokul
Asif Iqbal
Kamran Sunjoy Rahman