Considering the pathetic reputation the Pakistani cinema has in its own country, it definitely is amazing to see that it is appreciated abroad and in a country like America for that matter. The film has recently been in the spotlight as it bagged a number of awards at New York film festival. The movie made a debut in Lahore on Saturday night at LUMS International Film Festival called the “Filums”.
The film’s first screening in Pakistan showed the sense of Pakistani viewers, which has changed over the years, and exactly how the medium of films, abandoned in Pakistan over the years, finally seems worthwhile. Meher Jaffri, CEO at Bodhicitta Works, and the film producer said,”People have asked how I made something different from Bollywood. We need a revolution in film-making, audiences are smarter now and there is room for a niche audience.”
“I guess when the journey began, we had no corporate interest until after the festivals, my only advice to film-makers is to make films that you believe in, there is no formula,” Jaffri narrates. The director of the film Mansoor Mujahid, who made his directional debut with Seedlings, talked about the film,”The film is not constructed as a commercial film. Viewers expect more action, but when you are stuck with low-budgets, you’re forced to make character-based films.”
