Pakistani cinema is certainly having a moment in the international spotlight this year. Whether it’s documentaries such as Song of Lahore or commercial fare such as Manto and Moor, local films have managed to leave a solid impression on audiences worldwide. The latest offering from Pakistan to win international acclaim is a documentary called A Walnut Tree by filmmaker Ammar Aziz, which has bagged the top prize at the Film South Asia Festival that recently concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal.
A Walnut Tree has been made under the banner of The Justice Project, that aims to bring together scholars, activists and filmmakers from across South Asia to address issues of social justice. Shot at the Jalozai camp in KPK, the film tells the tale of an old man, Baba, as he reminisces about a distant homeland. The documentary sheds light on the turmoil faced by internally displaced people who flee violence and oppression in their countries.
The film was awarded the Ram Bahadur Trophy for Best Film at the regional film festival, along with a cash prize of USD 2,000. This isn’t the first film made by Aziz, a Lahore-based independent documentary filmmaker, to gain recognition. His projects, which focus on labour and gender issues, have been shown at various international film and human-rights events including the Solidar Silver Rose Award in Brussels and ABF’s 100 years Jubilee in Stockholm along with several labour conferences in Europe and Asia. In 2012, he represented Pakistan in a series of film-related events in various American states for his documentary Daughters of a Lesser God, about female bangle-makers in Hyderabad. The filmmaker has also featured in the Christian Science Monitor’s “30 under 30” people to watch out for.
Courtesy: InStep Today (The News)
