Several Pakistani films won awards at the Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) in Canada, including Sarmad Khoosat’s dark comedy film Lali. The awards were given during the 12th edition of the festival.
Films by Pakistani filmmakers Sarmad Khoosat and Mohammad Ali Naqvi were among the works that received major awards.
Which Pakistani films won awards?
Sarmad Khoosat’s dark comedy film Lali received two awards at the festival. It won the Special Jury Prize and the award for Best Sound Design.
The film also opened the festival. It had earlier premiered at the Berlin Film Festival this year.
Lali tells the story of a young woman named Zeba. She is played by Mamya Shajaffar. Zeba is called an unlucky bride after her three former husbands die under mysterious circumstances.
Mohammad Ali Naqvi’s documentary Hanging by a Wire also won an award. It received the Sabyn Mahmood Award for Courage in Cinema.
The documentary is based on the 2023 Battagram cable car incident. Eight people, including six children, were trapped in a cable car about 900 feet above the ground. They were rescued safely after a difficult operation that lasted several hours.
The film was also Pakistan’s submission for the Academy Awards this year.
Which other Pakistani films received awards?
Pakistani filmmaker Kamran Faiq’s short film The Last Glance won the Best International Short Film award.
The film follows a family trying to escape their village because of ongoing violence.
Another Pakistani documentary also received an honour at the festival. The Gymnasts of Fishermen Colony received an honourable mention in the Best Documentary category.
The documentary focuses on young gymnasts from Karachi’s Machhar Colony and their lives.
What is MISAFF?
MISAFF aims to introduce Canadian audiences to films from South Asia. It also features films from West Asia and North Africa.
This year’s festival was held from September 30 to October 4. A total of 16 feature films and 30 short films were shown.
Filmmakers from Pakistan, India, Canada, Nepal, Iran and other countries took part in the festival.
