Pakistani documentary 'As Light as Air' explores Sufi trance at Locarno

Pakistani filmmaker Umair Bilal's documentary As Light as Air is bringing the spiritual traditions of Sehwan, Pakistan, to the Locarno Film Festival.

The film follows Bilal's months spent in Sehwan, where he initially tried to impose a conventional documentary structure on the community and its rituals. Instead, he gradually abandoned that approach and allowed the film to unfold around the rhythms, people and spiritual practices he encountered.

At the centre of the documentary is Sehwan's Sufi culture, particularly the ecstatic trance associated with devotional gatherings at the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar. Rather than explaining the experience through conventional narration, Bilal's film seeks to immerse viewers in the atmosphere and movement of the rituals.

Bilal's decision to surrender control over the filmmaking process became central to As Light as Air. His experience in Sehwan led him to rethink the relationship between filmmaker and subject, allowing the community and its spiritual traditions to shape the documentary's form.

The film's selection at Locarno places a Pakistani story and a distinctly local spiritual tradition on an international festival stage, giving audiences an opportunity to experience Sehwan through an intimate, observational lens.