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    Short Film Review: Noor

    Written by: Ayesha Amir
    Posted on: October 26, 2023 | | 中文

    Omair Rana with her on-screen daughter, Noor, played by Tanisha Shameem

    Noor (light) is a short film of merely seventeen minutes but a very profound message; a short film tackling the stigma around weak eyesight and consequently having to wear spectacles in a society so obsessed with a woman’s appearance. Through the intellectual prowess of Farah Usman’s writing and Umer Adil’s direction, Noor was able to win at the Cannes World Film Festival in the category for “Best Health Film”, in March 2023. In addition to an impactful storyline, it features a sterling cast, namely Sarwat Gilani, Omair Rana, Tanisha Shameem (the child star, as Noor), Mizna Waqas and Tasneem Ansari. It centers around a girl with weak eyesight, Noor, who is not allowed by her father to wear glasses until after she helps save her grandmother’s life.

    Noor is happy wearing glasses

    The story begins in a classroom where we see a kind teacher (Sarwat Gilani), helping her students learn. Noor is seen with a friend who seems to be helping her with her assignment, but we learn later that it is because Noor’s poor eyesight hinders her ability to see the blackboard clearly. The little boy, Noor’s friend, is wearing glasses. This juxtaposition of two friends, one with glasses and one without, symbolizes right in the beginning of the film the consequences of not letting a bright child reach their full potential due to a physical impairment, which can easily be rectified, but is hindered by the family’s ignorance or the society’s perception of what a girl should look like.

    Noor with her friend in school

    In the beginning of the scene where Noor reaches home, the camera cleverly closes on beautifully hand-painted handicraft items of décor around the house, a passion that Noor’s mother has lost due to her deteriorating eyesight. The scene is interrupted by the sudden distressed calls of the grandmother, who screams “Jabeen! Jabeen” (Noor’s mother) furiously. The cause of her distress is a faultily stitched button, which Jabeen couldn’t stitch properly due to her lack of clear eyesight. It is saddening to note that she is not allowed to wear glasses inside the house, both by her husband (played by Omair Rana), as well as her mother-in-law. The forbidden nature of it is most apparent when Jabeen is clearly fearful of being seen wearing glasses when her husband returns, and she rushes to take them off.

    A scene that very beautifully captures all of the film’s themes at once, is where the family of four gather to have dinner. The bandage on Jabeen’s thumb insinuates that she does not wear her glasses while doing chores, and it has caused her pain and discomfort. By showing this, the film subtly catches on the consequences of not wearing glasses when in need. Further, and most notably, the grandmother’s condescending advice of having Jabeen taken to the Peer Sahab reflects a great number of our society’s disillusioned and misinformed notion of doctors not being the first choice for seeking cure. Inevitably Peer Sahab cannot “fix” Jabeen’s eyesight, and what adds to the irony of the situation is how the family’s reason for getting Jabeen’s eyesight “fixed” is not to help her, but that she doesn’t look “ugly.” The husband asks, “why do you want to look so ugly?” She counters that her glasses help her with her vision and prevent her eye sight from deteriorating further.

    The family dinner scene

    On top of this disheartening reflection on how our society views bespectacled women, we see another subtle commentary on the gendered dynamics of a marriage when the mother-in-law says, “she looks older than you (the husband) after wearing glasses,” implying that it is somehow wrong for women to look older than their husbands. A widely prevalent view in our society is that personal wellbeing should be sacrificed in order to keep their husband happy and satisfied.

    Showing the importance of eye care, the film portrays Noor’s class teacher and her best classmate, as savior figures who help Noor to improve her self-esteem. After a welfare organization visits Noor’s school for a free eye check-up, she gets her own glasses. However, Noor has had to grow up seeing her mother entrenched in the injustice of lack of care, which ultimately comes to apply to herself when her father sees her wearing glasses, flies into a rage and breaks them. Noor happens to be making a poster for a competition in school when this happens. In that moment, the juxtaposition of her distraught self, holding the broken glasses, with that of the poster that shows a happy bespectacled girl, clearly symbolizes the Noor of current reality and the Noor of an ideal world.

    Sarwat Gillani with Noor (Tanisha Shameem)

    It is not until later that an emergency occurs, and Noor’s grandmother falls ill while Jabeen, who usually takes care of her, is not home. Just when Noor’s father is about to give the grandmother a medicine, Noor puts on her glasses amidst that frenzy and notices that the medicine has expired. It is this climactic scene that makes Noor’s father realize how wrong he was to withhold Noor’s right to proper eyecare, as the very thing he despised has saved his mother’s life.

    Noor, played by Tanisha Shameem, with her on-screen grandmother

    Ultimately, the father reflects on his actions, and gifts Jabeen a new pair of glasses. He then fixes Noor’s spectacles and gives those glasses to her in front of Noor’s classroom, an attempt at redeeming himself publicly and accepting his poor lack of judgment. He brings Noor’s poster in the nick of time, which very fondly reads, “transform your weakness into strength. Win every hurdle,” a lesson given to Noor by her teacher.

    Sarwat Gillani in the film

    In the light of the fact that this short film is a project by Sightsavers, an International NGO working for the welfare of visual impairment and preventative measures for avoidable blindness, it can be said that the film does an excellent job of depicting the stigma around wearing glasses, of the emotional and physical distresses caused by not benefiting from adequate eye care, as well as the steps that can be taken towards acknowledging and accepting that weak eyesight is not something to be ashamed of.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021