Communicating in the universal language of cinema

American directors visiting Karachi taught aspiring film-makers to move ahead of their times.

KARACHI:

Picture this: Abdullah Shahmeer, a young student, has a plot to share. A story of a 14-year-old boy who wants to pursue his interest in writing, but coming from a land-aristocracy background and its traditional values, he is shunned by his landlord father when he reveals his interest. The plot thickens when he plans to rebel against the norms of his class structure.

“Scenes are little stories about people wanting things badly,” said Ted Braun, who was one of two American film directors addressing young, aspiring film-makers in attendance at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (Szabist) on Tuesday morning.

Braun, along with Marilyn Agrelo, conducted a film-making workshop on ‘The Art of Cinematic Storytelling’ — the foundation of which is laid through a character using which one tells a story. The plot develops accordingly and there is a set style to follow. In the entire story-telling atmosphere, “Hope and fear, together pulls a dramatic question,” added Braun.

Braun stressed on the need to have an impact, and Agrelo said that one needs to teach the audience to watch more.

“I have actually been surprised and enlightened by the young crowd here,” Agrelo said about her experience. “And to see what they go through, it’s very different from the US. I hope they get to make great films here in Pakistan.”

What was Braun taking back from his teaching experience here in Pakistan at this two-day workshop? “I am taking back particular problems and challenges these young film-makers have here in Pakistan. The commonality lies on the line of shared dreams and of course the love for cinema. Cinema is a universal language which the audience can understand on a global level.”

He even gave a tip to aspiring young film-makers, saying, “For emerging young talent, film-making and social media tools can get the stories out. This is just beginning to develop here in Pakistan, where we see the old and the new coming together. Pakistan is a very entrepreneurial society; there is a desire to do something in everyone out here. You can certainly feel it.”

As many as 40 students enrolled in the workshop from various institutes of Pakistan, including Hyderabad and Quetta. Shehram Mokhtar, Head of Media Sciences, Szabist said, “A very diverse group of young people are present in the audience, and have delivered a very positive feedback. Our only desire was exposure for these young film-makers, so that they can learn about the general techniques of storytelling.”

The two day film-making workshop ended on Tuesday evening at Szabist, Clifton campus.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2014.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.