In recent times, there has been an increase in the number of filmmakers collaborating with each other all over the world to tell stories and reach out to people with their compelling narratives. No matter what background the filmmakers come from, they have the power to connect people by playing on themes that are common to every society. This was observed at the recently held 60 Second International Film Festival in Karachi that brought together 35, minute-long stories of young and aspiring filmmakers from all over the world including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Germany.
The films at the 60 Second Intl. Film Festival showed why one does not need time to visually convey an idea and still leave a strong impression on the viewer
FestivalCircuit
The annual screening of the top 35 films at the 60 Second International Film Festival left attendees empowered with strong social messages.
Karachi: In recent times, there has been an increase in the number of filmmakers collaborating with each other all over the world to tell stories and reach out to people with their compelling narratives. No matter what background the filmmakers come from, they have the power to connect people by playing on themes that are common to every society. This was observed at the recently held 60 Second International Film Festival in Karachi that brought together 35, minute-long stories of young and aspiring filmmakers from all over the world including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Germany.
With the idea of paving way for young talent in filmmaking at its core, the one-day event featured workshops, enlightening discussions and film screenings. For kids, there was a ‘Filmmaking & Photography’ workshop as well as screenings of selected films made by kids from all over Pakistan. This was followed by a panel discussion on ‘Film for Social Change’ that highlighted the importance of visual storytelling in developing a society and bringing social change.
The final event of the festival that received immense praise from attendees was the annual screening of the top 35 films selected by the jury members, which were selected out of the entries they received from over 40 countries. While most of the films were 60-seconds long, few of them also came from 100 Second Intl Film Festival. Almost all of these films, ranging from drama and suspense stories to comedies and animations, were incredible in their visual appeal and conveyed strong, powerful messages. The themes were also empowering and highlighted social issues related to women, children, education, and so on.
Farzad Samimi and Ahmad Vahid Omari’s Vision (based on changing perspective) from Afghanistan won the first prize, Sourabh Bali’s Shaitan (based on a woman’s survival) from India won the second prize, and Ramaisa Shahid’s Toofani Kiddo (based on the imaginative world of a child) from Pakistan won the third prize.
According to Abrar ul Hassan, the festival director, “60 Seconf Intl. Film Festival is more than a festival; it is a union of art and media from all around the globe with the purpose of inspiring many.” On one hand, where it takes more than an hour to convey an idea through conventional films, it was interesting to see minute-long stories do the same and have the power to influence and perhaps even change mindsets. Sharing her views at the festival after the screening, Li Ping Lo, Cultural Affairs Officer, U.S. Consulate Karachi stated, “I think what we saw during 60 Second Film Festival was the showcase of talent and creativity not just from Pakistan but from all over the world.”
Griffin Rozell, Cutural Attache U.S. Consulate Karachi, who was also present at the festival, said, “Every nation needs storytellers and today it was very exciting to see up and coming aspiring storytellers from Pakistan and from all around the world speaking to each other.”
This was the fourth edition of the 60 Second Intl Film Festival and has also been held in other parts of the country over the past few weeks. The purpose behind this initiative is to empower the youth and provide them a platform to bring up their ideas and turn them into films. Like every year, the festival successfully pulled in a lot of people and was applauded by attendees all over Pakistan.
