'Cake' representing Pakistan at the Oscars is an honour, says director Asim Abbasi

Film to be submitted for consideration in the 'Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 91st Academy Awards

KARACHI: The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee, chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy-winning documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, has selected Cake to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the 'Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 91st Academy Awards.

"We are excited to continue the tradition of sending films from Pakistan in the foreign language cateorgy of the academy awards! Each year, the submissions become stronger and we are keeping our fingers crossed that one of these days we will come away with a golden statue!" the Saving Face director told The Express Tribune. 

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will choose the final nominees for all award categories, including Best Foreign Language Film, in January 2019.

The director of the film, Asim Abbasi was over the moon. He told us, ""All my world cinema heroes (Cuaron, Koreeda, Pawlikowski, Ceylan, Farhadi) have released films this year so the competition for nominations will undoubtedly be stiff. But for me the fact that the committee considered Cake worthy of representing Pakistan is an honour in itself. I sincerely hope our cinema continues to grow in years to come and we keep making content that has the potential for global recognition."

"I am extremely honoured to have Cake representing Pakistan this year, and grateful to the selection committee for considering it worthy," said director Asim Abbasi. "My deepest gratitude for my Cake family, who worked so hard and with so much belief to bring this film to the audiences. 2018 is proving to be a great year for Pakistani Cinema. May it continue to grow and may we always find the courage and the vision to tell our stories our own way."

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The complete and final list of Oscar nominees will be announced on January 22, 2019, with the presentation show for the 91st Academy Awards scheduled to take place on 24th February 2019.

The committee is chaired by Sharmeen and includes Kamila Shamshi, Saira Kazmi, HM Naqvi, Hadiqa Kiani, Ali Sethi, Zoe Viccaji, Nadeem Farooq Paracha, Nabila Maqsoo, Khalid Malik and Faisal Qureishi as well.

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Set in one of the world’s biggest metropolitan city, Karachi. Cake follows the lives of two sisters, one of whom lives abroad and the other is ‘left’ behind. Burdened with guilt and resentments, the sisters confront old secrets and realize that sometimes the only way for a family to move on, is by finding a way back.

At its core, Cake is a film about the passage of time seen through the eyes of one family and offers a heartfelt look at the realities of life, of past and present, of choices and consequences.

The film stars leading Pakistani actors, Sanam Saeed, Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Malik in pivotal roles. It is produced by Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari.

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