AJ Kardar-directed “Jago Hua Savera” (“The Day Shall Dawn”), made in 1959 in then East Pakistan, will be screened in the Cannes Classics section of the Cannes Film Festival, which began yesterday. A restored print of the film will be shown at the prestigious event.

 “Jago Hua Savera” was a co-production between the two halves of what was then a geographically-divided Pakistani state. The film was shot in Dhaka by the East Pakistan Film Development Corporation by Lahore-based Kardar, and scripted in the Urdu language, which is native to the West. It was based on a story by Manik Bandopadhyay, but the film was written by iconic Urdu poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

 It was as an assistant director in this film that Bangladeshi film legend Zahir Raihan began his journey of filmdom.

Focused on poor fishermen of then East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), “Jago Hua Savera”, has legendary Indian actress Tripti Mitra and Bangladesh's Khan Ataur Rahman in lead roles.