PU moot sheds light on Pak film industry

LAHORE:On the eve of the completion of 100 years of cinema in Lahore, the first three-day International Conference on Creative Arts was held at the Punjab University’s College of Art and Design.

PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr M Ali, Eminent British artist Elaine Shemilt, renowned director Syed Noor, renowned comedian Iftikhar Thakur, Dr Ahmed Bilal, eminent personalities from the film and theatre industry and teachers and students in large numbers attended the conference on its inaugural day.

Addressing the ceremony, Dr M Ali desired to establish a film academy at Punjab University in collaboration with the industry. He regretted that ‘we have not valued our people in the film industry’. He said that Punjab University always pays tribute to you and the bright stars of the film industry deserve honorary PhDs as we are proud of them. He said that people used to learn from films and people's livelihood was also associated with this industry.

Syed Noor said that out of one hundred years of the cinema industry, he witnessed 53 years and he had seen extreme rise and fall of the film industry. He said that he has never seen such a conference in which the trend of film making was promoted among students. He said that we used to think that film should be taught in universities. He said that today, film making was being taught in universities and students do have a degree, but no one becomes a filmmaker. He said that if passion is created among the youth, then good filmmakers will be produced. He said that the film industry has declined in India too. Iftikhar Thakur said that people like Syed Noor have created famous people in the film industry. He said that Hollywood and South films were successful because of graphic design. He said that if the film industry wanted to move forward, the field of graphic design should be promoted. Dr Ahmed Bilal said that in the past we used to make 100 films a year. He said that the decline of the cinema industry has also caused intellectual degradation. He said that cinemagoers were still there, however, we should use our own resources to revive the cinema industry. The conference will continue till January 29, 2025.