Reviving cinema: Short films, young filmmakers

FiLUMS to begin on Feb 10, registration closes Jan 15.

LAHORE:

“This year we expect to raise the bar. We want the festival to be the centre for dramatic and cinematic revival in the country,” Sobaan Ahmed, the convener of FiLUMS 2012, said.

Ahmed was talking to The Express Tribune about the Lahore University of Management Sciences annual film festival scheduled to be held from February 10 to February 12.

He said the organisers hoped to attract more commercial movies to the event this year. He said Bilal Lashari’s film, Waar, is likely to premier at the event. “Nothing is final yet.

We are in the process of talking things out [with Lashari] hoping they work out,” he said.

Ahmed said filmmaking needed to be recognised as a profession. Talking about FiLUMS, he said, the event was no longer just a students’ film festival.

“With more commercial entries making their way to the festival every year, we have taken it beyond the college event level,” he said.

So far 125 entries have been registered at the event, of which 80 are from abroad. A member of the LUMS Media Arts Society said 700 nominations were made in the 2011 event, claiming that FiLUMS was the largest festival of its kind in Pakistan.

Last year’s guests included Reema Khan, Syed Noor, Usman Peerzada and Sarmad Khoosat. They held interactive sessions with young filmmakers participating in the event. He said the jury for 2012 had yet not been finalised.

Noman Khan, a student of the Department of Theatre, Film and Television at the Beaconhouse National University, said there was a need to provide international platform to young filmmakers.

Khan and his team had registered their film called Debate 8, based on the 2005 earthquake in northern Pakistan, at FiLUMS 2011. He said the film was one of the top five entries of 2011, and is looking forward to register an entry this year as well.

“Despite the decline in our film industry, the event has been providing the needed exposure to the young filmmakers for five years.” He particularly mentioned his interaction with Reema Khan at the last year’s event, calling it “encouraging.”

Entries are being accepted in four categories: short film, feature film, animation and documentary.

The last date for sending entries is January 15. Registration costs Rs1,000. Out of the entries, 100 will be short listed for screening at the festival.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2012.