First Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF)
First Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF): The first Pakistan International Film Festival (PiFF) ended in Karachi on 1st April Sunday. The four day event that started on 29th March was supported by the Cultural Department of Sindh government and federal information ministry.
This festival was comprised of panel discussions on the topics of
- Film Diplomacy and Cross Border Collaboration,
- Innovation on Screen: Digital Dimensions,
- Genre Busters, From Script to Screen and Beyond,
- Films for Change: Socially Motivated content in South Asian Film Industry,
- The Future of Music and Lyrics: How important is music in the sub continental cinema
Participants from diverse background were there that included prominent local and foreign speakers Sultana Siddiqui, Asim Raza, Anjum Rajabali (Indian script and screenplay writer), Nandita Das (actor,director,producer of upcoming Indian movie Manto), Harsh Narayan (Indian filmmaker), Sajal Ali, Rashid Khwaja, Abrar Ali Khan, Farees Shah, Faizan Syed, Adnan Sarwar, Sana Tauseef, Atiqa Odho to name a few.
Screenings of short films, documentaries and feature films were organized at various institutes throughout the city including Goethe Institute, Iqra Defence Valley, Iqra University North Nazimabad campus, Alliance Françoise and The second floor (T2F).
Along with screenings of documentaries, premier of “Cake” was held at Nueplex cinema as a part of the festival. A special matinee show of the newly released animated movie “Tick Tock” was arranged for children at Nueplex Cinemas.
Actor and director Nandita Das came to Karachi from India for the first Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF). She visited Pakistan after nine years. Indian playback singer Rekha Bhardwaj, Ali Zafar, Asif Noorani, Sultan Arshad and Dr. Omer Adil were part of the discussion “The Future of Music and Lyrics: How important is music in the sub continental cinema”. With the ban on Pakistani artists working in Bollywood for quite some time now, Nandita in a recent interview dismissed the ban and stated, “There should be no restrictions on borders.”
The Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF), being the first large scale film festival since the Kara Film Festival years ago, has brought the local film community alive again and opened doors to more exchanges and interactions with artists from across the border, as well other international film-makers.
The Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF) 2018 brought together luminaries belonging to the Indian and Pakistani film industry under one roof despite year’s long uncertainty between the two countries. The festival was well attended by media personalities and members of the film and entertainment industry.