Journeys to democracy

My article in The News on Sunday, Jan 1, 2017, on two film festivals in New York recently showcasing work from Pakistan and India. I wanted to write more about some of them but didn’t have space. Below, with additional links and pix.

Mah-e-Mir director Anjum Shehzad and producers Badar Ikram, Khurram Rana with Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi. Photo: Beena Sarwar

Desi audiences thronged to two recent film festivals in New York showcasing films from Pakistan and India

Many of the films in what is being heralded as a revival of Pakistan cinema feature the sprawling megapolis of Karachi. The multifaceted city’s historic sandstone buildings, sandy beach, traditional tiles, boundless energy emerge in these films… dreamily romantic under a perpetual full moon (Mah-e-Mir), wildly eclectic (Mailay), effervescent, multi-cultural (Actor In Law), violently revengeful (Gardaab), creative, musical (Ho Mann Jahan), a playground for street dancing (Dance Kahani), a tangle of underworld sewers and space-age factories (Teen Bahadur, animation). Continue reading →

Filed under: Art and activism, Culture | Tagged: Asim Raza, Dobara Phir Se, Economic liberalisation, Fahad Mustafa, Hindutva, Ho Mann Jahaan, Mailay, Mantra, Mateela, Mehreen Jabbar, Mehwish Hayat, Nabeel Qureshi, Om Puri, Pakistan UN mission, South Asian films, Teen Bahadur | Leave a comment »