Visual story-tellers

March 21, 2021

Instep looks at four cinematographers who have made the visual narrative in any medium of entertainment exciting, innovative, cool and unpredictable

Mo Azmi

Mo Azmi, who prefers not to give interviews, is quite possibly the country’s best cinematographer. He’s worked on commercials but it’s his vision in films such as Cake, Laal Kabootar and the Asim Abbasi series, Churails, that depict some of his best work. He also shot the critically acclaimed music video of The DA Method’s ‘The Desert Journey’ (directed by Kamal Khan) as well as Danyal Zafar’s ‘Ek Aur Ek 3’ music video, directed by Abdullah Harris. Mo Azmi’s latest work includes Atif Aslam’s ‘Raat’, directed by Yasir Jaswal. He’s on a roll and it looks like he’s just getting started.

Umar Riaz

Whether it’s shooting an Ali Sethi music video in his ancestral village and capturing nature in its magnificence in ‘Mahi Mera’ or taking Mughal-e-Funk’s ‘Sakal Ban’ and shooting it as a thrilling dance music video, Umar Riaz has emerged as one of the finest directors and cinematographers of our time. As an added bonus, he also edits. But he has made our list of sorts for his ability to shoot anything from the streets of Lahore to rural beauty to a semi-thumri that holds the Amir Khasrau kalaam in highest regard even behind the camera, never going overboard.

Farhan Hafeez

Farhan Hafeez is a cinematographer whose work is just as exquisite as it is real. From Ali Azmat’s cheeky and political ‘Bum Phatta’ many moons ago to being involved with Velo Sound Station to Asim Azhar’s ‘Khelta Ja’, Farhan Hafeez need not show his credentials for his work speaks for itself. Ad films, music videos and series, it seems there is nothing Hafeez cannot shoot without making it look good.

Awais Gohar

Awais Gohar is a director and a cinematographer. Though he has shot several fashion films for brands such as Republic, Zara Shahjahan and Munib Nawaz, it’s his work with bands like Bayaan (‘Khel Tamasha’, ‘Teri Tasveer’), Talal Qureshi (‘Lift’) and Saakin (‘Sik Mitraan’) that is far more fetching in terms of both ideas and execution. One of the most exciting cinematographers in the field, we hope to see great things from Awais Gohar in the near future. 

Visual story-tellers