BEYOND BORDERS
INVISIBLE LINE
(9 mins/ 2016/ Pakistan)
by Danial Shah
Available from: 27th November, 5:30 PM
Until: 1st December, 5:30 PM
About the Film: The lack of a physical boundary in the sea between Pakistan and India has cruelly impacted the lives of fishermen and the families they leave behind.
About the Filmmakers: Danial Shah, born in Quetta, Pakistan, is a documentary filmmaker and photographer who is passionate about documenting issues related to migration, human condition and its interaction with spaces around. Prior to making films, he worked as a photojournalist and writer for publications like The New York Times and Herald Magazine. He received a Sustainable Journalism Award in 2017 for a visual story about the impact of climate change in Pakistan. In 2016, Danial received a scholarship to study diploma in Documentary Film at University of California, Los Angeles. His thesis film, ‘Invisible Line’, had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2017.
Sourath Behan is a filmmaker based in Karachi, Pakistan. She strongly believes in the power of visual storytelling and its ability to bring about positive change. She has been working as an Editor & Colorist since 2014 and was the Associate Editor on Pakistan's first Netflix original, "Sitara: Let Girls Dream" (2019) and was also part of Pakistan's first YouTube Original Series.
Shahnawaz Chachar, filmmaker and peace activist from Sindh, Pakistan.
MUKAND AND RIAZ
(8 mins/ English/ 2005/India)
by Nina Sabnani
Available from: 30th November, 10:30 AM
Until: 2nd December, 10:30 PM
About the Film: Mukand and Riaz is a story based on the fragmented memories of Mukand who remembers and misses Riaz, his childhood friend. When the partition of India and Pakistan happened in 1947, Riaz helped Mukand and his family to escape safely. The two friends never met again and the hope is that this film may bring them together.
About the Film maker: Nina Sabnani is an artist and storyteller who uses film, illustration and writing to tell her stories.
Nina's research interests include exploring the dynamics between words and images in storytelling. Her work in film and illustrated books, seeks to bring together animation and ethnography. Her award winning films include Mukand and Riaz, Tanko Bole Chhe (The Stitches Speak) and Baat Wahi Hai. Her film Hum Chitra Banate Hain made in collaboration with the bhil artist Sher Singh from Madhya Pradesh, received the national award (Rajat Kamal) for the best animation film from the President of India at the 64th National Awards for 2016. Nina is Professor at the IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay.
Still:
DREAMING TAJ MAHAL
(51 mins/ Urdu, Hindi with English subtitles/ 2010/ India)
by Nirmal Chander
Available from: 30th November, 10:30 AM
Until: 2nd December, 10:30 PM
About the Film: Haidar, a taxi driver, dreams of going to India to see the Taj Mahal. The choice doesn’t seem strange for a man who believes that “love is everything”. The only problem is he lives in Pakistan! Why is Haidar's dream so impossible to achieve? To see how Haidar's dream can be given a voice and what it means for all of us, the filmmaker travels from India to Pakistan.
Festivals and Awards:
- National Award 2012, Best Promotional Film
- Silver Conch, International Competition, MIFF 2012
- IFFI, Indian Panorama 2012
- Mumbai International Festival for Documentary, Short & Animation Films (MIFF), 2012
- World Film 2011 – Tartu Festival of Visual Culture, 2011
- Bollywood and Beyond, Stuttgart, Germany, 2011
- About the Film maker: Nirmal Chander is a multiple Award winning filmmaker who has been working in the field of documentaries for over two decades. His films have received awards at many national and international festivals and have been telecast on NDTV and Doordarshan.
- Nirmal has also conducted workshops on documentary filmmaking and served on juries at film festivals.
- His documentary Moti Bagh was the entry to the Oscars for 2019.
Trailer:
LYARI NOTES
(70mins/Urdu, English with Eng. subtitles/ 2015/ Pakistan, India)
by Maheen Zia and Miriam Chandy Menacherry
Available from: 30th November, 10:30 AM
Until: 2nd December, 10:30 PM
About the Film: Through the lives of Hamza Jafri and his students, this film provides an insight into just what it takes to have a voice in an area known for gang warfare and a country where self expression and music is often drowned out by cycles of violence… A unique film project where two filmmakers Maheen (Pakistan) and Miriam (India) collaborate to string a new political discourse through music.
Selected Festivals and Awards:
- World premiere (Amsterdam, 2015), at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam - nominated by the Alliance of Women Film Journalists – EDA Award
- India premiere (Mumbai, 2016), at the Mumbai International Film Festival - international competition category
- US premiere Indie Meme International Film Festival (Austin) – April 2016
- UK premiere (Sheffield, 2016), at the Sheffield International Documentary Festival - nominated for the Youth Jury Award
- Visions Du Reel (Nyon, Switzerland) – April 2016 selected for the viewing room
- Winner of the Indian Documentary Producers Association Silver Award for long form documentary
- Winner of `Best documentary project’ – Docedge, Asian pitch, 2016
- Opening film at the Kochi Biennale
- Broadcast on Al Jazeera.
About the Film makers: Maheen Zia (Director and Co-producer from Pakistan) is a Pakistani film director and editor. She has a degree in radio/ TV production from Drake University USA and teaches at the Department of visual studies Karachi University. She is one of the founding members of Pakistan’s young international film festival – The Kara Film Festival and has served as a juror at international film festivals in Tehran, Tampere, Hyderabad and Kabul. She is the winner of the India EU Film initiative- Berlin Today Award- for her film `Match Factor’.
Miriam Chandy Menacherry (Producer/Co-Director from India) is the Founder–Director at Filament Pictures. She began her career as a reporter and then went on to direct programmes for BBC World and National Geographic Channel. She produces and directs her brand of creative documentaries that have won international acclaim. Her last film Lyari Notes, co-directed and co-produced with Pakistan filmmaker Maheen Zia had its world premiere at IDFA. It was also the opening film at the Kochi Biennale and was broadcast on Al Jazeera. Her film The Rat Race on the true life narratives of Mumbai’s rat killers won the Mipdoc Co-pProduction Challenge at Cannes and awards at Florence and Kerala. The film had multiple broadcasts on Arte, YLE, RSI, DR and NDTV. Both films had limited theatrical release in India as well as USA.
She is currently working on her feature documentary From the Shadows on child sex trafficking selected for four international forums including as part of the Global Media Makers Program 2019-2020 by Film Independent and the US State Department. Miriam has been developing a model of distribution that involves theatrical release, festival circuit, educational screenings as well as broadcast across South Asia.
Trailer:
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