Pakistan will make a small presence at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2016.
For starters, filmmaker Jamil Dehlavi’s short film Blood Money will be screened at the Short Film Corner. The film is a thriller based on the real-life incident of American CIA agent Raymond Davis’ arrest in Karachi following the murder of a young Pakistani mugger and the subsequent two million dollars blood money that was involved in the process of his release from jail.
Also being showcased at the Cannes Classics section is the 1959 AJ Kardar drama Jago Hua Savera (The Day Shall Dawn). Shot in Dhaka and a collaboration between the then East and West Pakistan, Jago Hua Savera was Pakistan’s first submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category to the Academy. The film, however, was not selected for nomination. While all of the film’s original negatives for the ’50s, the film was restored a while back through an extensive process of cleaning and modifying black and white prints from various rolls. The restored version was screened at the 2008 New York Film Festival as part of the film’s 50th-anniversary celebrations.
Finally, Irish short film Tiger Tiger, scheduled to screen at the festival, also has a Pakistani connection. The film has been co-produced by filmmaker Nabhan Karim of Wormhole Productions and is a mystery drama that revolves around an unnamed protagonist who seeks help from his bartender friend to dispose off a body one odd night.
Bollywood celebrities like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor will also attend the event starting Wednesday, May 11.
Here’s hoping that Pakistani representation continues to grow in the coming years.
