‘Moshari’: Why Bangladeshi Horror Always Made Sense
Director Nuhash Humayun chats about how he added Jordan Peele and Riz Ahmed as exec producers, turning the short film into a feature, and what’s next.
When Nuhash Humayun set out to create Moshari, a 20-minute live-action horror film in which two sisters must survive an apocalypse by using mosquito nets, most people around him thought he was crazy. Humayun self-financed part of the film, cast his niece to play the adorable younger sister Ayra, and even taught himself post-production and VFX to take the film to the finish line. Skeptics wondered if the film, so different than most Bangladeshi cinema was worth releasing. One mentor, however, told Humayun he owed it to himself to showcase the movie that was “so him” to the rest of the world. Since its release, Moshari has won the jury prize at SXSW, and become the first Bangladeshi film to qualify for an Oscar nomination. Humayun has also added Oscar winners Jordan Peele and Riz Ahmed as executive producers. We chatted with Humayun about how he met Peele and Ahmed, what’s next for Moshari (a likely feature version?), and his upcoming projects.