‘Worth’, a heart touching short film screened at German embassy

By Mobarik A. Virk
February 24, 2020

Islamabad : ‘Put me down! I am not Ali!’ shouted young girl ‘Darya’ when her father tried to lift her as she twisted her ankle while the two were rushing to catch a transport that was supposed to take them to safety from hostile conditions they were living as refugees.

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And those seemed to be the words that penetrated the soul of a fleeing father, who had just sold his new-born son to get enough money to flee to safety with his daughter. ‘Worth’ is a short, 14-minute film reflecting the plight of a refugee family living in hostile conditions. The father (role played by Waqas Shahzad) had lost her wife, killed by somebody soon after she gave birth to a baby boy, Ali.

His daughter ‘Darya’ (role played by a young student Ms Daniya) is taking care of the infant. Having lost his wife, the father is worried about the safety of his children as well as his own. ‘Khan’ (role played by Babar Khan) convinces him to sell his infant son to a woman who has lost his son in a bomb blast for an amount of money that would be enough to take him and his daughter, ‘Darya’ away to safer places.

The father reluctantly agrees and hands over his infant son to the woman but is caught in an emotional turmoil and demands to see the woman whom he was going to sell his only son. Khan objects, citing the traditional customs where the woman was not supposed to show her face to anybody but the father remains adamant and eventually the woman shows her face and accepts the money.

The father then takes the daughter to reach the vehicle at the appointed point. While he rushed through the difficult terrain the daughter keep asking about her brother and father keep trying his best to appease her. And then she twists her ankle. In a hurry to reach the vehicle at the appointed location, father tries to lift the girl and keep walking when the daughter screams: ‘Put me down. I am not Ali!’

And that was the moment father changed his mind and returns to reclaim his infant son and return the money!

It was a very emotional short movie, shot at two different locations in Islamabad. After the screening there was a prolonged interactive session in which the director of the film Ibrahim Khan, the father, Waqas Shahzad and Babar Khan responded to a series of questions. Ms Sobia Becker of the Asian Study Circle (ASC) coordinated the session along with Ms Christine Rosenberger, the Head of Press and Cultural Section of the German Embassy.

A brief provided by the German Embassy Cultural Section said that ‘Worth’ has received three awards at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival including the ‘Best Short Film’, the ‘Best Direction’ and the ‘Best Cinematography’. The film has also been shown at the Reel Asian Film Festival in Toronto. The film has also been screened at the Asia Peace Film Festival in Lahore recently and the Izmir International Film Festival in December 2019.

Before screening of the film, Ms Christine Rosenberger spoke briefly to announce the start of cultural activities for the year 2020 and also talked about the film and the people who made the efforts to make it.

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