No Indian guests to attend Faiz International Festival

Event to focus on promotion of Pakistani cinema while paying homage to literary greats

LAHORE: Due to the ongoing political strife between India and Pakistan, no Indian guests will be participating in the upcoming Faiz International Festival, to be held in Lahore. Previously, the event has played host to veteran Bollywood actors such as Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri, both of whom have frequented Pakistan many times over the past few years. Shah, in particular, has been a permanent feature of the festival for the last four years, as a symbol of Faiz’s ever-increasing international outreach.

Scheduled to be held at Alhamra Hall from November 18 to November 20, the Faiz Festival aims to honour the life and work of late Urdu litterateur and activist Faiz Ahmed Faiz, along with other contributors to the culture industry.

“I cannot deny that our Indian guests will not be able to attend the Faiz Festival 2016 due to security concerns but we are looking forward to a wonderful programme, nonetheless,” Faiz’s daughter and Trustee Faiz Foundation, Moneeza Hashmi told The Express Tribune. “This year, we will also be paying tribute to other legendary writers such as Intizar Hussain, Javed Iqbal, Shakir Ali, Sibt-e-Hassan and Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi. All five of them have played key roles in the development of our culture and arts,” she added.



Past sessions have also seen many Indian delegations, including directors, producers, and choreographers and performing troupes participate and pay homage to Faiz, while Indian films have also been screened as part of the festival before. According to organisers, this year’s festival will feature film and television personalities from other parts of the world whilst focusing on the development and promotion of Pakistani cinema.

Another highlight of the festival will be legendary singer Abida Parveen, who will be speaking at a session relating to music. “The highlight of the festival is likely to be Abida Parveen, who will not only speak at the festival but also launch her upcoming album on the occasion,” Hashmi revealed. “Other great singers such as Suraiya and Rahat Multanikar and some instrumentalists have also been invited.”

However, the main objective of the three-day event remains Pakistani cinema and how it can be taken further. “In this connection, we have invited some of our talented young film directors and actors such as Sarmad Khoosat and of course, Mahira Khan,” shared Hashmi. “And for the more avid literature enthusiasts, we have some special additional programmes in the pipeline. The list of other, foreign attendees will be shared with the media before the festival commences.”

Faiz was an influential writer and revolutionary poet who wrote in Urdu and English, as well as Punjabi. He was awarded the Lenin Peace Prize in 1962 and nominated for the Nobel Prize for literature four times throughout his career.

The Faiz Foundation has been organising festivals in the name of the great poet for years now, hoping to take his cause to the international level. In the past, residents of the city have attended the festival in large numbers and their participation is only expected to increase this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2016.

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