LIDF FFSC – Pakistan Day at the British Museum

by Sarwar Mushtaq, Eckova

It was an enjoyable and energized Saturday at the British Museum, in spite of the rain.  The Pakistan Day event was attended by about 100 people, including students, press, film makers, members of the British Pakistani community, and others. The eleven films were shown over two sessions.  Each session was followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A session. Both panels were chaired and moderated by Patrick Hazard.

Session 1 Panel:

• Athar Hussain Director of the Asia Research Centre, LSE
• Anwar Akhtar, Director of The Samosa, a digital media, culture, arts and politics project, focusing on Britain and South Asia
• Ali Sheikh, Sumayya Hafeez & Sehar Palijo, student filmmakers

Session 2 Panel:

• Faissal Hameed, Lecturer in Islam and Politics,
• Maha Hosain Aziz, Senior Teaching Fellow in South Asian Politics, SOAS / Asia Insight Columnist, Business Week
• Asma Shah, Film Maker, Director of Modernizing Madrassas
• Alizeb Raees, Nabiha Khan & Kiran Ahmed, student filmmakers

Each of the expert panelists gave their view of the importance of showing the ‘real’ Pakistan through such films and commended the film makers on their efforts. All the 11 films received praise from the audience. The attendees also expressed appreciation for the students and their effort. Several questions and comments came from the audience and were responded to ably by the students. Many of the questions were directed at the distribution and dissemination of the films in Pakistan and the UK.

After a short break, there was an informal discussion session between the visiting Pakistani filmmakers and some young London filmmakers. Everyone watched a film from the project Hidden Herstories. This was followed by a light, informative and very encouraging exchange of ideas between everyone present. Mr. Anwar Akhtar of Samosa joined in the discussion offering noteworthy insight.

Sunday was shopping and sightseeing, followed by a screening of a Brazilian film in the evening, with a night on the town in the works.

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See more photos from LIDF at the FLICKR gallery

PAKISTAN: Filmmaking for Social Change @ LIDF 2010

Date:	Saturday, May 1, 2010
Time:	12:00pm – 6:00pm
Location:	The British Museum
City:	City of London, United Kingdom

For the second year running, LIDF has developed and led documentary filmmaking workshops in Karachi, Pakistan supported by the British High Commission in Islamabad. Thirty students from Karachi and Lahore were trained in documentary history, theory and shown a selection of LIDF’s best documentaries from the past 3 years, before embarking on the production of their own.

The result is 11 short films all dealing with issues relating to the effects of terrorism in Pakistan today. These films will be premiered at the British Museum in London, and students will be present to participate in post-film discussions.

Stevenson Theatre, each session is £3. Please book at the British Museum box office.

This is posted on a Facebook Event page. Click to see the full schedule for the day and to RSVP
– http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=116585288353103