Tareque Masud was an award-winning Bangladeshi independent film director. He was known for directing the films Muktir Gaan (1995) and Matir Moina (2002), for which he won a number of international awards, including the International Critics' Prize and FIPRESCI Prize for Directors' Fortnight at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival. He died in a road accident on 13 August, 2011. Tareque Masud was born in Nurpur village, Bhanga Upazila, Faridpur District, Bangladesh. He studied at an Islamic madrasah as a child, but the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War against Pakistan forces in 1971 put an end to his studies at the Islamic seminary. After the war, Masud pursued general education and went on to obtain a Masters degree in History at Dhaka University. His wife, Catherine Masud, is a Chicago-born film editor.