Written by: Shahnawaz Ramay
Posted on: December 18, 2018 | 
| 中文
Films Showcased by Kuch Khaas
Pakistan’s finest film directors convened on Friday, 14th December in Islamabad to showcase their short films. The screening took place at the cosy space of MeetHub, in association with Kuch Khaas. In an intimate gathering of film buffs, enthusiasts and family members, it was a light hearted event with the aim of focusing on the talented film directors.
The screening was kicked off by Anam Abbas, with her film “Lucky Irani Circus,” which followed the different families that work inside the circus, and how their lives revolve around the world’s largest mobile circus. She intricately explored the habits and traits of the performers, their friendships and the relationships they had forged with each other. Her cinematography was a one woman effort - an expose style filming, where she would follow her subjects to capture moments of authentic and raw emotion. Abbas’ film provided insightful information on how the circus operates and how the performers view it as their sole source of survival. Through her interview with the current owner, Mian Sahab, the viewers found out that a total of 400 people are part of the troupe, some of whom have been working there for over three generations. She followed around a 12 year old boy, Nomi, who has been working in the circus for the last 8 years but wants to quit and learn a trade that would help him survive in the real world. With visually strong shots, the film followed the narration of the interviews and established a sense of continuity. The film also shed light on the hidden secrets of such careers, including family abandonment, child labour and poverty.
The next film by Nadir Shahzad was the winning entry from the 48 Hour Film Project, recently conducted in Pakistan. The challenge? To come up with a masterpiece in 48 hours, include an apple, an English dialogue and a character named Ali Salman. Nadir Shahzad’s ‘Zom-Com’ was inspired by his wife, and was about a married couple attempting to get to a safe house after a zombie apocalypse overtakes the country. The husband gets bitten in an attempt at bravado, so it falls to the wife to get her husband medical treatment. Although the film is entirely shot inside a car, the varying camera angles conveyed the mood. Viewers could imagine themselves inside the car, through the dash cam pointed towards the actors as they played out the scenario. The dialogues were fresh, witty and relatable, and drew on the very familiar idiosyncrasies of a desi married couple. The actors, including Hamza Tariq Jamil and Iman Shahid, played their part brilliantly and the makeup, special effects and sound was on point, to deliver a compelling and believable zombie emergency. After watching the film, it was quite apparent as to why it had won the competition.
Following Nadir, Usman Mukhtar, presented his film “Aasiqui,” inspired by Anurag Khasyap and his blockbuster Gangs of Wasseypur. The film characters were modelled after the “Ragar” tribe from the area of Thar. Personally, I felt that the film also drew inspiration from American directors like Quentin Tarantino and films like Sin City. The colour palette was supremely utilized to give support to the underlying emotions in the dialogues and the scenarios. Although the film had the disclaimer of an age warning, the profanity ridden dialogues seemed like a breath of fresh air and more realistic in contrast to Lollywood’s loud “Oi.” The film did lack a strong plot, banking on the much ridden concept of a love triangle gone foul, but was an interesting film to watch overall.
During the Q&A the directors gave more details about their experience. Abbas revealed that she had travelled with the circus performers, and to make room for her in their bus, the family had to literally sleep on top of each other on thin wooden beams. Mukhtar shared his story of being blocked by Anurag Kashyap on social media, while Nadir shared that his favourite Zombie film was Shaun of the Dead. Some of the actors who had played leading roles in the films were also present and were brought forward to a round of applause. While lamenting about the fact that the industry is still banking on the stereotypical hero to make commercially successful films, Mukhtar remained hopeful that he can turn his film into a feature film.
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