Bangladeshi documentary ‘Mamun: In Praise of Shadows’, portraying the life and artistic journey of eminent photographer Nasir Ali Mamun, has won the Best Biographical Documentary award at the MosDocFest Documentary Film Festival in Moscow, Russia.

Directed by British-Bangladeshi filmmaker Makbul Chowdhury, the film has previously received recognition at two international film festivals, winning the Best Documentary award at the UK Asian Film Festival in the United Kingdom and a Special Jury Mention at the fifth World Film Festival in Kolkata.

The Moscow award marks another milestone in the documentary's international journey, bringing further attention to the work of one of Bangladesh's most distinctive portrait photographers.

Nasir Ali Mamun has established a significant position in Bangladesh's photography landscape through decades of work dedicated to portraiture.

Known for his distinctive approach to capturing human faces and personalities, he has developed a visual language that goes beyond conventional portrait photography, seeking to explore the character, emotions and inner dimensions of his subjects.

Through his camera, Mamun has documented prominent personalities from different fields, creating a substantial visual record of individuals who have shaped the country's cultural, intellectual and artistic landscape. His portraits are distinguished by an individual artistic sensibility, often focusing on the relationship between the subject, their surroundings and the deeper human stories behind their public identities.

Over the years, his sustained engagement with portrait photography has helped establish his reputation as a prominent figure in the country's photographic tradition. His work offers not only individual representations of notable personalities but also a broader visual reflection of the society and times in which they lived.

‘Mamun: In Praise of Shadows’ traces this long artistic journey, examining the photographer's creative philosophy, working process and contribution to the development of portrait photography in Bangladesh.

The documentary also explores how Mamun's photographs have become part of the country's cultural and visual memory, preserving the faces and personalities of different generations through his distinctive photographic perspective.

By bringing together his life, artistic practice and photographic archive, the documentary offers audiences an insight into the journey of an artist whose work has consistently explored the relationship between photography, identity and human expression, according to the director.