Hawa

Mejbaur Rahman Sumon's 2022 Bangladeshi film takes place on a fishing trawler out at sea. A crew of eight finds a woman in the water, and after they bring her aboard no fish come into the nets. The film does not present this as a supernatural cause, nor does it deny it. The hierarchy among the crew comes apart, accusations begin and the woman becomes an object of both fear and desire; the narrative draws its tension from the enclosed space. Chanchal Chowdhury plays the captain. Much of it was shot genuinely at sea and the film almost never leaves the boat. It drew unexpectedly wide attention in Bangladesh. Who it's for: those who like South Asian thrillers and single-location narratives. Who it's not for: viewers for whom violence against a woman would sit heavily.