National Documentary Short Film Competition
The National Short Documentary Film Competition 2009 is a collaboration between the LIDF; the British High Commission, Pakistan and Geo TV.
The top winner, director of Stray Kite, Kati Patang, has been sponsored by the BHC to attend the screening of his film at the LIDF. Following are the top three films of the competition according to the jury and the public votes and LIDF screens these as a part of Filmmaking for Social Change event on Wednesday 1 April.
Stray Kite (Kati Patang)
Duration: 12 Minutes
Language: Urdu and Punjabi
Producer: Muhammad Sohail Azad
Cinematographer: Shah Zaman Baloach
Much has been written and said about Basant – the celebration for the arrival of spring. In the subcontinent it marks harvest, a time of abundance. Over the last few years, cultural activities such as kite-flying became synonymous with Basant, which caused much controversy around the subject.
Living Literature: The Canon of the Three Wheelers (Umer Aziz Khan, Zubair Malick, Usman Ghafoor and Madabbir Majid )
Duration: 15 Minutes
Producer/Director: Umer Aziz Khan, Zubair Malick, Usman Ghafoor and Madabbir Majid
Cinematographer: Usman Ghafoor and Umer Aziz Khan
Three wheelers are an indispensable part of Lahore’s culture. Powered variously, they all have the peculiar shape and canopy that has been a part of their generic image for many years. Despite tough times the drivers are a lively lot. On the backs of the rickshaws are painted poetry, limericks and slogans. The film documents this phenomenon of painted religious and mystic poetry, Pashto poetry, advertisement slogans and love poetry.
Talking Faith (Naveen Qayyum)
Duration: 30 Minutes
Language: Urdu and English
Producer: Naveen Qayyum
Cinematographer: Ahsan-ul-Haq
Talking Faith opens a window into the lives of Sarah and Azam. Two friends living the post 9/11 realities where Islam gets associated with militarism and Christian minorities face a backlash by the extremists. Their faiths are different, one is Muslim and the other Christian, but what they share is the same taste in music, a friendship and a human bond of commonalities. They exist under the shadow of divisions but live the hope of interfaith harmony and give dialogue a human face shared by all religions.
