After wooing art lovers at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, the trailer of Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Andy Sohocken’s documentary Song of Lahore is finally out.
Encompassing the rich music tradition of Lahore, the film set to release on November 13, projects the journey of the acclaimed Sachal Studios as they travelled from Lahore to the rest of the world to celebrate classic music.
The trailer, beginning with the city’s long association with music and culture, shows how art collapsed when extremism seeped in the society and the Taliban forcefully took away musical instruments. One musician laments how the keyboard was taken away from his son who was also later beaten by extremists.
It also hints towards raging intolerance as visuals from blasts are shown with mourners carrying the bodies of the dead.
To fight for the diminishing arts, in 2004 Izzat Majeed founded the Sachal Studios by gathering old musicians and rebuilt their lost connection with their roots.
The musicians quietly released their albums until one experiment fusing jazz with classical music brought them into the global spotlight. The glee on the faces of the musicians is evident as they receive the invitation to perform at New York with renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis.
The trailer shows Marsalis explaining how jazz music comes from people who were persecuted and how the element of humanity brings them all together.
Song of Lahore also received a standing ovation at the Tribeca Film Festival.
