‘Are you Listening?’ wins big at Dili International Film Festival

The Pakistani short breaks silence on child molestation in indoor spaces

A Pakistani public service announcement has made it big at the Dili International Film Festival (DIFF), nabbing the award for the Best PSA of the year.

Directed by Samad Baloch, Are You Listening features a bunch children being molested by either their relatives or peers, with the world around them failing to notice or even acknowledge their screams or altered behaviour.

The fact that it does so without using violent imagery, or even reenacting the crime altogether – is what catches the attention of the viewer. Added by the fact that the clip remains silent until the truth is revealed is what evokes all the emotions at the end.

"Are You listening unmutes the muted screams of the victims of child molestation and urges the guardians of these children to keep an eye out for the predator, who is most likely to be someone close to the child,” the PSA’s director of photography Asir Ahmed Khan tells The Express Tribune.

According to Khan, aside from winning at DIFF, the PSA has also been selected to screen at four international film festivals.

 

 

 

 

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It’s an honour to announce that our PSA “Are you Listening?” has won the award for Best PSA at the Dili International Film Festival, Timor-Leste. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew of “Are You Listening?” for reaching a global audience and impressing the Jury Panel. Link in bio.

A post shared by samad baloch (@baluchsamad) on Oct 17, 2020 at 9:06am PDT

“It’s an honour to announce that our PSA Are you Listening? has won the award for Best PSA at the Dili International Film Festival, Timor-Leste. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew for reaching a global audience and impressing the Jury Panel,” shared Baloch on Instagram.

Pari of Pokhara, another film that Khan did the cinematography for, was recently screened at the 11th Edition of SOHO International Film Festival in New York on October 18. It has also been selected to premiere at five other international film festivals including in Italy, Nepal and India.

 

 

 

 

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It’s an honour to announce that our film Pari of Pokhara is having it’s USA Premier at the 11th Edition of SOHO International Film Festival NYC (SohoFilmFest) in New York. You can watch the Film online and participate in the Q/A with team Pari on October 18th, 2020 at 10:00 PM New York time. You can follow the link below to book the tickets and find further details about the screening. https://watch.sohofilmfest.com/SohoFilmFest/play/5f76c4b6f891d0081e9ff25c/5f76c4b6f891d0081e9ff25f Congratulations to International Youth Media Summit, Vaasil Productions and the entire cast and crew of Pari of Pokhara for reaching a global audience by getting selected at 6 different international film festivals around the world.

A post shared by Asir Khan (@asirahmedkhan) on Oct 13, 2020 at 7:59am PDT

“Pari of Pokhara highlights the issue of human trafficking that women in Nepal and around the world usually face,” Khan added. The film was directed by Babar Ali.

Watch Are You Listening here:

 

Public Service Message - Child Abuse

They have a lot to say, Are you listening? Tw: Child abuse Credits: Producer: Muhammad Fahad Khan Syed Khizer Naqvi Associate Producer: Syed Jibran Mehdi Rizvi Director/Editor: Samad Baloch Associate Director: Ayesha Aamir 1st AD: Farjad Akhtar 2nd AD: Nabira Nasir Director of Photography: Asir Ahmed Khan Gaffer: Syed Ashiq Shah Assistant Cinematographers: Omar Sajid & Syed Hassan Production Design: Ali Ahmed Art Director: Ebad Haque Sound Design: Sameer Baloch Color Grade: Ayaz Akbar Special Thanks: Faraz Iqbal Murad Ansari Meer Farhad Jamali Mazhar Suleman Noorani Sherein Jameel Ashar Khan Laraib Rajper Ashba Baig #ChildAbuse #GoodTouchBadTouch #AreYouListening

Posted by Asir Ahmed Khan on Sunday, June 7, 2020

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