Asian Peace Film Festival to begin from Sept 18 at PNCA

Islamabad :The first ever Pakistan edition of the Asia Peace Film Festival (APFF) will take place from September 18 to 20 at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).

The festival is being supported by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and National Heritage. As many as 113 documentaries and other content of about 15 hour from 30 countries would be shown in three days.

Marriyam Aurangzeb, the Minister for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage, was the chief guest of the launching ceremony of the festival organised by the PNCA. Speaking on the occasion, Marriyam Aurangzeb said no one else could understand the importance of peace more than us who have been fighting a war against terrorism for decades. "We suffered a lot both economically and socially. Now we are fighting against all odds and the challenges confronting from the extremism and for the sake of our generations next. The restoration of national identity and dignity is a must for us," she said. 

The Minister said that the first ever national film and broadcasting policy would be announced next month that would bring several new and concrete initiatives to promote film production and screening in Pakistan. 

The PNCA Director General Syed Jamal Shah said cinema is a very medium for both narrative and documentary being the most accessible and effective vehicle for promoting social change in the world. It addresses some very important social and cultural issues besides proving entertainment at the same time.

The DG said that the APFF would pave a path for the global communication for peace, originating from Pakistan to help develop a harmonized narrative for the region.

Amjad Bhatti, the chief executive of the festival, said the selected films of APFF-Pakistan Edition would be screened first at the Festival on 18-19-20 September 2017 in Islamabad; second on the other festivals hosted in partner countries, third in the 30 Universities of Pakistan’s four provinces including Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir and fourth in several press clubs in Pakistan.

The finalists of APFF-Pakistan Edition would be decorated with National Awards from the Government of Pakistan. The finalist films would be screened as a part of learning curriculum and case studies at the media and communication departments of universities as well as at the press clubs across Asia.

APFF would maintain a YouTube channel for a wider dissemination of selected and awarded films. APFF would create an endowment fund to establish Asia Peace Film Academy (APFA) in the long run. Resources for APFF are generated through institutional support from government and nongovernment organizations as well as through corporate sponsorships. Individual donations and volunteerism also add value to the resource base of APFF.

As a future project, APFF has plans to design and conduct short courses on ‘film for peace’ engaging Asian universities, press clubs and media academies. APFF would design and conduct annual editions of the festival on co-host basis engaging yearly with a new country of Asian region. First APFF is Pakistan Edition 2017.