Women festival underway at PNCA

Islamabad : To commemorate International Women Day, a six-day Women International Film Festival 2019 will be concluded tomorrrow (March 9) at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) on March 4. Five features were screened. March 9 is fixed for short films.

The festival began on March 4 with Summer 1993 from Spain. Directed by Carla Simon, we deal with the a six-year-old girl who goes on to give a new turn to her life. Thirst from Bulgaria, directed by Sveeta Tsotorkova, was a search for water both to survive and livelihood. A father and her child come up to help. Padre from Italy, directed by Giada Colagrande, is about loss of life and a constant search for truth. On Thursday ‘Home is Here’ from Austria was unspooled, directed by Tereza Kotyk. Here, the film maker takes us into the life of a young woman with dreams for a home. The dreams lie nowhere but within yourself. As we move on, Sami Blood scheduled for today (March 8), directed by Amanda Kernell from Sweden, shows us a girl who goes through harsh and ruthless realities of racism. Moving away from dear ones is the only way out for her existence.

Tomorrow (March 9). The day is reserved for short films from Pakistan, Sweden, Iran, India, USA, Spain and France. Short films are a genre which can convey the theme, plot and characters just in few minutes. American film Mirror directed by Mariah Espinosa, deals with the challenging subject of sexual assault. Gurga from Pakistan directed by Mona Javed, shows us neighbourhoods where innocent little girls are molested and sexually abused. The Untold Story again from Pakistan by Seema Farooq is on helpless woman and her past. How I Met the Wolf from France by Rosine Kabore, takes us to an innocent nineteen year old girl, not a drug but for a change a movie addict who wants to be an actress without knowing the evils behind the facade of glamour lights and gloss . Pava from India by Vaishnavi Sundar, takes us into the life of a girl, barber and their relationship. This contact would be part of the memory forever. Blatten from Sweden, Digitalis Purpurea and Ice the Musical from Spain,Authority from Bulgaria,I Am Nirbhaya, I Am Asifa from India and Deja Vu from Iran are the other titles scheduled for March 9.

Funded by European Union , Women International Film Festival 2019 signifies both the importance of women in society and how the films around the world (both features and shorts) can be instrumental and making a real difference in portraying what must be portrayed and brought out open into the light of the day.

— aijazzgul@gmail.com