Pakistan Film Saawan Wins Big at International Film Festivals
Earlier this month the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee invited Pakistani filmmakers to send entries for Oscar consideration and we wondered which films would make the cut. Unfortunately, most of the films that hit theatres this year were disappointing. One could hardly find a film that appears suitable for an Oscar nomination.
However, one film that stands a chance in the Academy Awards’ Foreign Films category is Farhan Alam’s Saawan, a film that has recently caught attention. The film bagged two awards at the Social World Film Festival 2017 held in Italy this month – one for Best Film and the other for Best Director. It also won the award for Best Foreign Language Feature at the Madrid International Film Festival earlier this year (July 8 - 15), where it received much appreciation. With a total of three international awards, the critically acclaimed project is expected to release in Pakistan on September 15.
Judging by the film’s official trailer, Saawan touches upon the true story of a nine-year-old disabled child, essayed by child artist Syed Karam Hussain who has been acting since the age of 5 and has made his cinematic debut with this film.
The film talks about struggle and survival. Shot in a barren wasteland (a valley in the mountains of Balochistan), it is about the journey of the child who initially has to deal with feelings of helplessness and rejection from his family and friends because of his disability. Eventually, he rises above all the obstacles around him.
The director behind the internationally acclaimed project, Farhan Alam is an award-winning director of photography who directed the film, Calendar. He has also been the director of photography for the film Bin Roye and several drama serials including Dastaan, Malaal, Mera Naseeb, Sanjah and Coke Kahani.
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