Alamgir Kabir (26 December 1938 – 20 January 1989) was a Bangladeshi film director and cultural activist. Three of his feature films are featured in the "Top 10 Bangladeshi Films" list by British Film Institute.
Kabir was awarded Independence Day Award posthumously in 2010 for his contribution to the Bangladeshi culture.
Kabir was born on 26 December 1938 in Rangamati in the then British India. His parents originated from Banaripara Upazila of Barisal. He completed the matriculation in 1952 from Dhaka Collegiate School and the intermediate in 1954 from Dhaka College. After completion of bachelor's from the University of Dhaka in physics, he went to England to study electrical engineering at Oxford University at the age of 22.
During his stay in Oxford University he watched The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman several times and became attracted to filmmaking. He attended the British Film Institute to complete a number of courses on the history of the film industry, film direction and aesthetics.
He also got involved with the Communist Party of Great Britain and became a reporter of the affiliated newspaper, the Daily Worker. In the early 1960s, Alamgir went for guerrilla warfare training in Cuba. As a reporter of the communist daily, he took interview of Cuban President Fidel Castro. He also took part in the wars of liberation of Palestine and Algeria. Alamgir was the founder of organisations such as East Pakistan House and East Bengal Liberation Front at London and was active in the campaign against racial discrimination.
In 1966, Alamgir came back to Dhaka. The Ayub government imprisoned him for his involvement with the leftist movement. Later, he started his professional life as a journalist. With the start of the war of independence in 1971, he joined the Swadhin Bangla Betar Kendra as the chief of its English section. He also worked as the chief reporter of the Bangladesh government in exile. This period also marks the start of his directorial life with the making of documentaries.
After the war of independence, he started making feature films. During 1981-82 Alamgir was the coordinator of the Film Appreciation Courses organized by the Film Institute, Government of Bangladesh.
Alamgir died on 20 January 1989 in the Jamuna River at Nagarbari Ferrighat when returning from Bogra after attending a film seminar. Actress Tina Khan, accompanying him in the same vehicle, also died in the accident.
Surjo Konna (Daughter of The Sun), 1975
Simana Periye (Across The Fringe), 1977
Rupali Saikate (The Loner), 1979
Mohana (The Mouth of a River), 1983
Mahanayak (The Great Hero), 1985
Sufia, Amulya Dhan (The Invaluable)
Bhor Halo Dor Kholo (Open the Door now at the Dawn)
Ek Sagar Rakter Binimoye (At the Cost of a Sea of Blood)
National Film Award for best Dialogue - 1977
Zahir Raihan Film Award of Uttaran