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Thursday March 28, 2024

Faiz festival kicks off

By Shahab Ansari & Sher Ali Khalti
November 19, 2016

LAHORE

The Faiz International Festival kicked off to honour the great poet and his progressive ideas, at Al-hamra Arts Council, The Mall, Lahore.

It has been 32 years since gigantic poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz departed but his ideas are relevant today. His heirloom is honoured every year. The festival, organised by Faiz Foundation Trust and Jang Media group, was inaugurated on Friday. The theme of the festival “Azad Hain Apne Fikr-o-Ammal” was a great tribute to his vision of a democratic and unprejudiced society.

The festival kicked off at Alhmara Arts council, The Mall with an exhibition of photographs of Faiz Ahmed Faiz, and an exhibition of paintings of Shakir Ali, whose centennial is being celebrated by the Faiz Foundation Trust; also display was a collection of paintings of masters, put together for the first time in Lahore, by the Lahore Arts Circle.

In her opening speech, Salima Hashmi, Chairperson, Faiz Foundation Trust welcomed the guests and highlighted Faiz’s belief that cultural development always preceded all other development. She said such festivals established the interconnection between all forms of cultural expressions; be it literature, music, poetry, film or visual arts.

The chief guest Kamran Lashari, Chairman of the Lahore Arts Council, welcomed the guests and appreciated the efforts of the Trust to promote Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage. He assured the trust of the continuing support of the Lahore Arts Council in future as well.

Panel discussion, music and arts exhibition, visual art and story-writing competition, reminiscence of our culture; icons, workshop on dance, theatre and film-making and many more exciting and interactive activities are planned for the occasion.

Delegates and performers from across Pakistan, USA, Cuba, Canada UK, and other countries have arrived in Lahore to attend the event, including eminent politicians, musicians film-makers, actors, playwrights, dance exponents, writers, poets etc.

The festival will include session with literary stalwarts like Munnu Bhai, Kishwar Naheed, Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Dr Asif Farrukh, Amjad Islam Amjad, Anwer Maqsood, and Asghar Nadeem Syed, film-maker like Firdoze Bulbulia from South Africa, Mehreen Jabbar, Sarmad Khoosat, Nabeel Qureshi and Jami, actors like Fawad Khan, Mahira Khan, Samina Pirzada, Smaiya Mumtaz, Simi Raheel and Nadia Jamil, singers Nayyara Noor, Tina Sani, Surraya Multanikar, Jawwad Ahmad, Arshad Mahmud and dance workshop by Nighat Chaudhry. Free performances included a classical eastern music performance by Tarz Orchestra by the Sangat theatre group, dramatic readings by Zambeel, classical musical night with Ustad Hamid Ali Khan, a children folk music performance by Lok Virsa and poetry reading by Adeel Hashmi with western classical music on piano. Abida Parveen and Tina Sani can also be heard live in concert.