The award was announced recently during the Tiburon International Film Festival in California, the producers said in a release.
The Orson Wells Award is given to a newcomer to encourage aspiring and independent filmmakers from all over the world to bring a new wave of talent and creativity to the art of cinema.
'Meherjaan' is about a Bangladeshi woman's affair with a Pakistani soldier in the backdrop of the 1971 Liberation War.
Released last year, the film was abruptly withdrawn from theatres in the neighbouring country after a section of intellectuals and freedom fighters alleged that the film distorts the history of the war.
"The fact that 'Meherjaan' was not allowed to be screened in Bangladesh is something I still regret, and no amount of foreign awards or festival screenings can make up for that loss," Hossain told PTI from Dhaka.
