Khalid Hasan Khan

The Painterist Wins Italian Film Award for Pakistan

Rome, Italy: The Painterist, a short flick, by Pakistani filmmaker, Khalid Hasan Khan wins “The Best Micro Short” award from an IMDb qualifier film festival, Robinson Film Awards, held in Rome, Italy; the country of classic artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli and other stalwarts of the 14th century Renaissance period.

 The film is a fictional biopic of an artist, Shahid, who has long been ripped off by an aesthete lady, Tanya, who buys his paintings, by paying him peanuts. One day, Shahid, decides to sell his own artwork, to a picture gallery, where he finds out his painting is already on display, under a pseudonym, with a much higher price tag; surprisingly, the art studio, is being run by Tanya.

The Painterist was directed by Khalid Khan and co-produced by Azim Ahmed and Syed Ovais Ali, with art direction by Masood Akhtar; Aisha B and Atif Siddiqui were DPs.

Zahid Rai wrote the heart-wrenching story of an abused painter, conveying an anti-plagiaristic message, while highlighting the theme of intellectual piracy. The debutant cast includes Adnan Bashir Khan, Kainat Munir and Aleeza Javed. 

Khalid Hasan Khan, director of The Painterist commented: “This is the fourth international award for the film; earlier the project won at the first annual 'People of Color Film Festival', held in New York, United States, 2022; the second annual 'LOGIHQ International Happiness Film Festival & Exhibition;, New Delhi, India, 2022 and the fifth annual 'Buddha International Film Festival', Pune, India, in 2021”.