Srihatta, the Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park, came to life with the ideation and production of When Winds in Monsoon Play, the White Peacock Will Sweep Away (2025), a new film by Italy-based Albanian artist Driant Zeneli, created in collaboration with Md. Tasnimul Izaz Bhuiyan, Pulak K. Sarkar, Rafi Nur Hamid, Sondip Roy, and Sumaiya Sultana, with a special contribution by Mahmudul Hasan Dipu. The film was co-commissioned by the Samdani Art Foundation and Museo Castromediano, Lecce.
As part of this project, Driant conducted an intensive Master Class at Srihatta, exploring storytelling and the aesthetic influences of Baroque theatre while encouraging participating artists to draw on local cultural elements such as the proverbs of Khona, the legendary Bengali astrologer and poet, and the iconic Parliament Building by Louis I. Kahn. This collaborative process brought together a group of emerging artists whose contributions were central to shaping the film’s distinctive and visionary expression.
The work draws inspiration from the “July Revolution, 2024,” during which more than a thousand people lost their lives in a series of protests that led to significant political change and the downfall of the autocratic regime in Bangladesh.
Developed at Srihatta: The Samdani Art Centre and Sculpture Park, this cross-cultural project reimagines the four seasons of Baroque music through Bangladesh’s six seasons. The project is supported by the Samdani Art Foundation (Bangladesh), EMΣT – National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens (Greece), the Art House of Adrian Paci and Melisa Paci in Shkodër (Albania), the Civic Museum of Castelbuono (Italy), and the Museo Castromediano with the Region of Puglia’s Department of Tourism, Culture, Economy and Territory Valuation (Italy).
The film’s first screening took place at CineFIX, hosted by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens, on September 4, 2025. The second screening was held on October 15, 2025, in Lecce, Italy, at the Church of San Francesco della Scarpa, accompanied by an exhibition on the film hosted by Museo Castromediano. The third screening was held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, at the Goethe-Institut on October 29, 2025.
Screening at CineFIX, hosted by the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens. Photo: Melitini Nikolaidi.
Screening in Dhaka at the Goethe-Institut. Photo credit: Ahadul Karim Khan.
Upcoming Screening
Kochi, India: The film will be screened at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale in a purpose-built temporary pavilion in February 2026.