After securing the British Council’s PK-UK: New Perspectives grant, IVS partnered with UKAFF to fund the short films of five emerging filmmakers; three Pakistan-based, and two UK-based artists were selected by a panel of judges consisting of reputable filmmakers.
Funded by the British Council, this project supports young artists by developing their reach, creativity, leadership, and aims to provide a platform for them to benefit from transnational perspectives. Focusing on voices from an emerging generation of filmmakers, the project connects Pakistan and UK’s contemporary cultural identities and artistic expressions.
The project consisted of masterclasses, hybrid workshops by the industry experts, individual mentoring sessions to provide support and training throughout the filmmaking process. All selected participants have produced short films on the themes of freedom, displacement, identity, political challenges, forced migration and belongings.
Featuring:
Vachan (dir. Kuldeep Khatri)
Shrawan, a young Hindu man, decides to take his father’s dead body to a place only he knows. His family is outraged, but Shrawan remains determined to honor his father’s memory in his own way. With the help of local transgender mystics, he is able to carry out his goal.
Hania (dir. Samen Ali)
A university student is afraid to express herself, as she tries to fit in, and struggles to decide whether to show her dance performance at an open mic night.
The Dandies of Albertopolis (dir. Omar Kent)
A trio of wannabe Dandies steal a Mughal urn from the Albert Museum and attempt to return it to Pakistan. Their plan soon unravels when they find themselves dealing with the complicated legacy of partition and the realities of ‘guerilla museum repatriation’.
Republic of Wailing Trees (dir. Nirmal Bano)
As Mehnaz and other women of Bhaagaowalla prepare for harvest, they learn that their farmlands have been selected as a site for the construction of a new coal power plant, which would meet the needs of a nation in an energy crisis. While the men of the village decide to sell their land for compensation, the women start sensing changes in their environment.
Rootless Connection, an AI Experiment (dir. Humira Imtiaz)
An experiment and exploration in utilizing burgeoning AI technology to explore connections within the Kashmiri community, between Kashmir and the UK. Using interviews with two Kashmiri people who were born in or grew up in the UK and two Kashmiri people who have lived in Kashmir for a large part of their lives, this short explores their connections with each other, and the privileges that they have as a result of their geographical locations.
This screening is followed by a Q&A with the directors hosted by Nasreen Rehman
