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Time to focus on entertainment

By Aamna Haider Isani
Thu, 12, 16

Karachi: A press conference held at the Federation House in Karachi announced a schedule, aims and objectives of the first FocusPK conference, to be held as a two day event at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi,

Time to focus on entertainment

INSTEpREPORT

FocusPK will be a game changer for Pakistan’s entertainment industry, says Atiqa Odho.

Karachi: A press conference held at the Federation House in Karachi announced a schedule, aims and objectives of the first FocusPK conference, to be held as a two day event at the Beach Luxury Hotel, Karachi, on December 3 and 4. The event will be hosted by the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) with Atiqa Odho as the Chairperson of the FPCCI’s Standing Committee on Production and Entertainment. There was a hopeful and positive air of integration between the entertainment industry and the government and if executed effectively, this collaboration and initiative will help elevate the standard of the entertainment industry and bring it at par with international regulations.

“This acknowledgment of the entertainment sector by the government will help take the industry forward,” Ms Odho said at the conference. “FocusPK16 shall be filling in a wide gap in our industry where we have resources but aren’t sure of how best to utilize them. We’re creating a medium of interaction not only for people in the industry but aspiring filmmakers and entertainers who are students right now and don’t know who to get in touch with once they graduate. We hope to create a database for future global collaborations and increase export options for our content through syndication deals in other countries where an Urdu speaking audience needs to be further engaged.”

The conference will hold around 18 different sessions, scheduled over the course of two days, with panelists as esteemed as Minister for Information Maryam Aurangzeb, Chairman PEMRA Absar Alam, Usman Peerzada, Sarmad Khoosat, Vasay Chaudhry, Zeb Bangash, Sarwat Gilani, Samina Ahmed, Syed Noor, Noor ul Huda Shah, Haseena Moin, Sahira Kazmi, Imran Aslam, Salman Iqbal, Jerjees Seja, Sultana Siddiqui, Nina Kashif, Iram Parveen Bilal, Fifi Haroon, Hassan Zaidi, Usman Riaz and Nadeem Mandviwala amongst many others. Details of the session are available on the conference’s website and Facebook page.

When asked if this initiative would help overcome the void created by the ban on Indian content on television and in cinemas Ms Odho replied, “We have to stop being so India centric. We need bilateral relationships and if all of Pakistan can run without India then so can film and entertainment. Plus, remember that we did not take this initiative. We must take this as an opportunity to grow. We need to have faith in ourselves.”