A House Named Shahana

Dipa is fierce, funny, forthright, a divorcee "menace" in a rural town in '90s Bangladesh who defies social stigma and the burden of family honour to live on her own terms. Based on real events, Leesa Gazi's debut feature Barir Naam 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. Raised by a weak and ineffectual father and stepmother, Dipa is essentially under the control of her uncle. Having committed a teenage indiscretion, she is forced to marry a widower in England. After suffering abuse and not being able to settle down, Dipa runs away and returns to Bangladesh, where she battles to be free.