‘Amma’ is a hybrid theatrical-VR experience that aims to bring audiences on a journey to Bangladesh and back, following a woman’s recollections of the War of Independence. This war was fought in 1971 between West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and ended with the establishment of an independent Bangladesh.
In many ways, women hold important roles in Bangladeshi society. Its two political dynasties are led by women and the growth of its economy is in no small part thanks to the millions of women who work in the garment industry. However, while researching the war in the run-up to its fiftieth anniversary, director Abdul Shayek noticed that there were few stories of ordinary women like his late mother, who migrated from Bangladesh to the UK when he was three years old.
Countless women like his mother, Shayek explains, experienced trauma due to the conflict in Bangladesh – which involved the rape of hundreds of thousands of Bengali...