Faisal Ahmed Shanto

On 16 July 2024, during the nationwide Quota Reform Movement, a young student from Chattogram—Faisal Ahmed Shanto—rose to defend justice. By evening, he had become one of the earliest martyrs of the July Uprising.

This documentary retraces the heartbreaking events of that day. Shanto, an HSC graduate and a first-year student at Omar Gani MES College, joined the student protest at Muradpur following the brutal attack on Dhaka University students. When armed Chhatra League groups launched an assault, gunfire erupted and Shanto was shot in the chest. He collapsed on the street where he had stood moments earlier chanting for justice. At the hospital, doctors declared him dead.

But the story of Shanto is not only about his final moments. It is the story of a mother who prepared afternoon snacks, waiting for her only son to return. A story of a father who had to carry the heaviest burden a parent can bear—his child’s lifeless body. A story of a younger sister who kept calling her brother’s phone, unaware that it would never ring again.

A story of a youth who wrote in his Facebook bio: “A heart that desires martyrdom never loses hope.” His wish became reality, long before anyone around him could imagine.

This film takes us to their homes in Chattogram and Barishal, where Shanto’s mother, father, and sister speak through grief and disbelief. Through their voices, we witness the crushing human cost of state-backed violence, the brutality unleashed on the youth, and the undying courage of a boy who stood against injustice.

Shanto’s martyrdom became a symbol of resistance, of youth awakening, and of a nation standing up against tyranny.