Film about garment worker who survived trapped in the rubble for 17 days after factory collapse cannot be shown for six months

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Bangladesh’s high court has imposed a six-month ban on a film about a garment worker who was rescued from the rubble 17 days after a five-storey factory complex collapsed, killing more than 1,000 people.

A two-member panel of judges ordered the ban on the film Rana Plaza after a writ petition was submitted. It said that the movie included scenes of horror, cruelty and violence that could affect workers in the country’s garment industry.

The director, Nazrul Islam Khan, had argued that the real-life story of Reshma Begum depicted courage amid the tragedy.

The disaster on 24 April 2013 left 1,135 people dead. Thousands more were rescued from the ruins of the illegally built complex which housed five factories supplying garments to international companies.

Bangladesh survivor Reshma Begum: I never dreamed I'd see daylight again Read more

When the collapse started, Begum said she raced down a stairwell into the basement, where she became trapped in a pocket of space that allowed her to survive. She found some dried food and bottles of water to sustain her until she was rescued. She now works in a hotel.

The collapse triggered an outcry at home and abroad. There have been efforts to reform Bangladesh’s garment industry to improve safety and working conditions.

Investigators say several factors contributed to the building’s collapse: it was overloaded with machines and generators, constructed on swampy land, and the owner added floors in violation of the original building plan.

On Monday, the high court also asked the country’s film censor board to explain in four weeks why the clearance certificate to show the movie should not be cancelled.

Sirajul Islam Rony, the writ petitioner and a trade union leader, said he went to court because the film’s producer had not removed some scenes of horror as instructed by the court in March.

Bangladesh earns about $25bn annually from garment exports, mainly to the US and Europe, although the country has one of the lowest minimum wages in the world – about $72 (£45) a month.

The industry employs about 4 million workers, mostly women who come from rural areas.