Filmmaking for Social Change 2010

“Filmmaking for Social Change” is a project of the British High Commission Pakistan in association with the London International Documentary Festival (LIDF) and Eckova Productions.

The project aims that young Pakistani filmmakers gain access to international platform to showcase films that focus on the voices and stories of ordinary Pakistani people and consequently give more of a platform to real people and their demand for change and highlight issues of importance to them. Eckova Productions is the local partner implementing the project in the cities of Karachi and Lahore.

The project consists of 2 parts

• Training of 30 young filmmakers
• Pakistan National Short Film Competition

 The participants are thirty young Pakistani filmmakers from Karachi and Lahore with background in film from several universities and colleges.  Through the 3 month process the participants will produce 10 films. Three films will be jury selected and shown at the London International Documentary Film Festival (LIDF) in May. 

As part of the project, a “Pakistan National Short Film Competition” will be held which is an open competition to young Pakistani filmmakers throughout Pakistan. See the website for details of eligibility and the application form.

• Visit the website  www.filmmakingforsocialchange.com
• Join Facebook Page

LIDF 2009 Experience

Hello everyone!

It’s great to see the ‘Filmmaking for Social Change’ workshops coming back and this year with more student filmmakers, 30 to be specific. Last year, there were 12 students selected. I was one of them. This time I’m in the staff to facilitate the 30 students and their mentors.

What an experience it was for me last year as a student in the LIDF/BHC workshops! I always wanted to be a socio political documentary filmmaker and with this project I got the opportunity to do exactly the same. I would like to share some of my experience with all of you here.

Two trainers came from London, Patrick Hazard, the director of the London International Documentary Festival (LIDF) and Peter Fraser, a journalist, producer and a filmmaker, for guiding us. The 5 day pre-production workshop with Peter Fraser and Patrick Hazard was amazing as we learned a lot from the history of film to the different eras and styles of documentaries. It was better than I expected it to be. We had some really great, healthy and at times heated discussions on various issues with my fellow students during the workshop.

After the pre-production workshop, the trainers left and we had a month and a half for research, scripting and production. It was really time consuming and tough as we had to meet with a lot of concerned people for research and permissions to shoot.

We were given five days to shoot so I had to plan the shooting schedule within five days and it was really tough to align your team/crew, the equipment, the locations, and the character/subject at the same time and at same place. It was an extremely tough and learning experience. I believe that challenges only make you stronger.

Then Peter and Patrick returned from London to spend 5 days with us on post-production, it was great! We had to take some intellectual decisions while editing the footage for the final film. Every single minute there was a learning experience! We had to spend 12 to 15 hours on the edit and I was enjoying every bit of it. I believe that if you are not willing to stay awake all night to do something then there is no point in doing that! You should be strongly passionate about what you do.

Once the film was complete I started packing for London and LIDF. It was an excitement in it’s own league because I’ve never been outside Pakistan and I’ve always heard all the great things about London. While in London and at the LIDF my pre-conceptions about ‘westerners’ shattered as everyone was so nice, gentle and friendly. Everyone appreciated and respected me a lot!

While sitting on the stage in a panel after the screening of our film in LIDF, I was feeling a huge responsibility on my shoulders as a documentary filmmaker and a Pakistani. It was truly great!

Meeting with so many different people related to films broadened my horizon of thought. And couple of people in London are interested in working with me in future, which is fascinating.

Patrick Pearce, a Canadian filmmaker, who was blogging LIDF for an American independent website, invited me to his place in Woodside Park and we went for a bike ride in woods. Wow! It was amazing, truly amazing! I can never forget the experience of cycling in woods in the suburbs of London, I only use to see it in movies and read about it in books. What an ambience it was!

I’m very grateful to the British High Commission for providing this platform for social change. I think they should keep on supporting such collaborations and our youth in future as well.

– Moiz Masood Sultani