Filmmaking for Social Change: Prevent and Resolve Conflict
supported by the British High Commission in Pakistan and Geo TV UK
Wednesday 1 April 2009 14:00 – 20:00 at the RSA
Buy tickets for this event now »
Full Afternoon tickets: £28, £23 conc
Closing debate only (18.45-20.00): £10, £7 conc
Schedule for the afternoon
14:00 – 15:30 Four short screenings
Followed by talk with Pakistani and UK students, Patrick Hazard & Peter Frazer: Film and Social Change.
15:30- 16.00 Screening
Red Burqua / Burqua a ye Qermez
Roxana Pope | 2008 | Iran | 5min
This short documentary takes us behind the Red Burqa masks to reveal the lives of the women who wear them as well as take us on a visually stunning journey across the landscapes of Southern Iran.
My Sin
Aliya Salahuddin | 2007 | Pakistan / UK | 28min
In June 2006, 1300 women were releaed from jail thanks to a change in a Shariah law on adultery. My Sin follows one released woman as she re-enters a society marred with the politics of women’s sexual morality.
16.00 – 16.30 Break
Participants looking at installation in vaults.
16.30 – 17.30 Screening
The Sacred Goats
Birgitte Glavind Sperber | 2008 | Denmark | 41min
The Kalasha minority in the Hindukush Mountains, NW Pakistan are the last remnants of the shamanistic goat culture that dominated in Centralasian mountain regions before Islam.
17.45 – 18.30 Discussion
Film, Internet and Advocacy: West v East
Panelists:
Ann Longley, Digital Strategy Director, MediaEdge CIA
Patrick Hazard, Director LIDF
Natalie Fenton, Reader and Co-Director, Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre
Peter Fraser, Insight Education
18.45 – 20.00 Debate
The UK Media and the War on Terror: Representations and Responsibilities.
The intention is to focus on UK media and its reporting of political violence, Pakistan, and the responsibilities involved in such media work within the general context of the ‘war on terror’. More generally, we will addresses the ethics and responsibilities involved in representations of the ‘other’ and explore and contest the notion that a camera is always a tool for enlightenment and empowerment.
Panelists:
Ziauddin Sardar (Visiting Professor of Postcolonial Studies, Department of Arts Policy and Management at City University, London and a contributing editor of New Statesman)
Mohammed Hanif (Head of BBC’s Urdu Service)
Alina Mirza (Artistic Director, Heer Productions)
Representative from the British High Commission in Pakistan
Aaqil Ahmed (Commissioning Editor, for Religion and Multi-Culturalism, C4
Chair: Holly Aylett (Vertigo Mgazine, UNESCO)
Further Information
This event is a series of screenings, debates and installations by young filmmakers from Karachi. These filmmakers focus on the voices and stories of ordinary Pakistani people, highlighting the issues that are important to them and emphasize their need for change. To read more about the initiative, click here.
Filmmaking for Social Change at LIDF09 features four films made by twelve students from various educational institutions: Karachi University, Indus Valley School of Arts; L’Ecole for Advances Studies and SZABIST. The films presented here are:
Children Behind Bars
This film explores the world of juvenile offenders in the ‘Youthful Offenders Industrial School’ in Karachi.
Escape
Exploring how the ordinary citizen fights against countless stigmas and distorted impressions of Pakistan to find ways to escape.
Inflation
This is the story of Pakistan today where the ordinary people struggle to survive in the face of soaring inflation.
From Birth to Sixty
Democracy is a dream that is yet to be fulfilled in Pakistan. From Birth to Sixty is a short documentary about Pakistan that aims to debate democracy and political instability in a historical perspective.
A note from the tutors
This workshop has been a tremendously rewarding experience for students and tutors alike. In the UK we tend to have a particular perspective on Pakistan so it’s very important to have these preconceptions challenged and enlightened by young Pakistani filmmakers who have urgent things to say about themselves, their society and their country. The challenge for us is to listen and learn.
Additionally, there will be a screening of the winner of the National Short Documentary Film Competition 2009 (a collaboration between the LIDF; the British High Commission, Pakistan; and Geo TV).
Buy tickets for this event now »
Full Afternoon tickets: £28, £23 conc
Closing debate only (18.45-20.00): £10, £7 conc
Really looking forward to this event tomorrow, will be a great opportunity to engage with young filmmmakers from Pakistan.
Well done LIDF for organising this great day, we all saw some fascinating films and gained a unique insight into aspects of Pakistani life.
I am, however, puzzled that both your website and that of the British High Commission in Islamabad both state that all three films in the competition organised with Geo tv and the BHC would be screened at LIDF when in the end only the winning film was shown. All three film directors had been informed directly by the British High Commission that their films would be screened at LIDF. I was astonished when during one of the intervals downstairs the film Talking Faith was played on a tv monitor without any announcement or information about the film being communicated. It was even more pointless as the ‘audience’ were all at the other end of the room taking refreshments and so were mostly unaware that another film was playing. Very disappointing that communication appeared at times poor in what ought to be an event to promote dialogue. If LIDF is committed to such worthwhile projects (no one doubts this) it is important that this is properly organised with any partner organisations to avoid disappointment and miscommunication. One of the directors is particularly disappointed as their film was not screened by Geo tv who did not give any specific reason (they claim it is ‘too sensitive and likely to invoke a reaction’)but was told by the BHC the film would be screened at LIDF as Britain ‘upholds freedom of speech’. Hope you put this on your site and perhaps feed back to the two disappointed directors….
Looking forward to the British Museum on Saturday !!