Watch: Usman Mukhtar's 'Bench' just unveiled its trailer

Lead actor Rubya Choudhry calls it 'a project that artists like me crave to do'

KARACHI: Usman Mukhtar's upcoming short film Bench that has been making headways in international festivals, just unveiled it's trailer on YouTube. Directed by Mukhtar with the script penned by Ali Mudar Bench is a dialogue centric film that sees two people, already at difficult crossroads of their respective lives come across one another.

Their inner conflicts are explored through the conversation between them. " The film is about two people who meet on a bench. It's a dialogue based film which takes very interesting twist and turns," Mukhtar told The Express Tribune without dwelling into much detail.

Rubya Chaudhry who plays one of the lead roles in the film, describes it as  "An intimate dialogue between two conflicted hearts, looking to find their own truth in life."

The trailer sees Rubya walk towards a bench after purchasing two packets of cigarettes. As she makes her way, Rubya's character is giving a monologue to the audience. about decisions she regrets one of which she aims to rectify.


"It takes courage to make tough decisions, to force yourself out of your comfort zone in order to take charge of your destiny," she said.

"Bench sets out to explore one such relationship; that turning point where you could either settle with the cards you’ve been dealt or break the mold to find your own truth."

For Rubya, the subject matter of the film is close to heart. "It is the kind of project that artists like me crave to do. As Usman and I have worked on an independent short film before this, I was over the moon when there was another script with my name on it, this time written by Ali Mudar," she said.

Adding on, Rubya notes that the overall vibe of the film comes off as natural. "It’s a story that’s close to home, one that has a natural flair as it progresses and where we attempt to display the greys of real emotions that are relatable. Yet just like it goes in real life, the end is never certain.. if there ever is an end at all."

As far as the film's release is concerned, Mukhtar maintained that the current situation around the pandemic has added confusion in that regard. "It will be screened locally for sure but obviously once the Covid-19 situation settles down. Right now we are also in the midst of dealing with different festivals the film has been submitted to, some of which are canceled while some are contemplating to go online" he said.

"So we are somewhat in a state of confusion. So we are trying to figure that out. But yes the film will definitely be screened locally in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad once the Covid-19 situation settles down," he added.

Over the past few months, the film has been submitted to multiple festivals. As of yet it has been selected for Independent Short  Awards Los Angeles, 3rd South Asian Film Festival Kolkata, Prisma Awards in Rome and South Asian Film Festival Toronto.

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