Oscar submissions open till September 2

Instep Today looks at the revised category and who is a strong contender.

“You’re one in a million/You’re once in a lifetime/You made me discover one of the stars above us.”

– ‘One in a Million’ by Bosson

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee, chai-red by two-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, has invited filmmakers to submit their films for Oscar consideration before the window closes on September 2, 2022. The Pakistan Oscar committee will announce their official nomination for the award on September 30, later next month.

While Pakistan has been consistently submitting films in the modern film era since 2013, it has yet to pick up an award for a fictional film.

Among some changes is the category itself. Before 2020, this category was known as Best Foreign Language Film. But it was changed to International Feature Film Award nearly three years ago.

Notes a press statement, “An international film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the United States of America and its territories with a predominantly (more than 50 per cent) non-English dialogue track. Animated and documentary feature films are permitted.”

Given the requirements, we cannot think of a single film that should be selected other than Kamli, directed by Sarmad Khoosat with an all-star cast led by Sania Saeed, Saba Qamar and supported by Nimra Bucha among others. Though several films did release this year including Quaid e Azam Zindabad featuring Mahira Khan and Fahad Mustafa, and London Nahi Jaunga starring Humayun Saeed, Kubra Khan and many others, there’s no comparison between these mass appeal films and the Sarmad Khoosat masterpiece.

Nominating any other film, at this point, would be tragic. Will any cerebral, piercing, provoking film release between now and the closing date that will give Kamli a run for its money? Probably not. However, only time will tell which film is nominated by the 2022 Pakistan Academy Award committee. Will the upcoming mammoth Bilal Lashari film, The Legend of Maula Jatt make a stronger mark on the committee members? No, because it is releasing in October. Outside of it, it doesn’t seem likely that any past or upcoming film from the start of the year till now has or can surpass Kamli.

Previous films submitted for the Oscars by Pakistan Academy Award committee include Zinda Bhaag in 2013, Dukhtar in 2014, Moor in 2015, Mah-e-Mir in 2016, Saawan in 2017, Cake in 2018, Laal Kabootar in 2019 and Zindagi Tamasha in 2020.

Apart from Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy chairing the Pakistan committee, others join her this year, including Ali Sethi [Musician], Omar Shahid Hamid [Author/ Script Writer], Rafay Mahmood [Film Critic], Samina Ahmad [Actress, Producer and Director], Jerjees Seja [TV and Film Producer], Bee Gul [Screenwriter and Director], Rizwan Beyg [Fashion Designer], Mo Azmi [Cinematographer], and Zeba Bakhtiar [Actress].

In previous years, the Oscar committee has featured prolific names such as include Ali Azmat,

Humayun Saeed, Jawed Sheikh, Sania Saeed, Faisal Kapadia, Asad-ul-Haq, Maheen Zia Hamza Bangash, Mehwish Hayat, Hasan Shehreyar Yasin and Asim Abbasi – among others.