First Muslim Film Festival in Karachi

I attended the last two days of the First "Muslim Film Festival" (here) held in Karachi on 6-8 July, organized by Imagination Unlimited in association with Geo TV, Radio FM 101, and the Arts Council.

The festival was very impressive for a unique initiative in Pakistan. It was well organized in a family-friendly environment. Constructive discussion sessions followed the screening of a few documentaries, which allowed the audience to interact with the directors and the cast. (See the list of films here)

There is a growing feeling that our Muslim identity in the media (esp. the international media) has been hijacked by a bunch of extremists and is politicized and manipulated by different governments for their gains. It is refreshing to see this festival and other similar efforts in the media recently that are aimed at reclaiming our Muslim identity by presenting a more comprehensive and diverse face of more than a billion Muslims in the world. Many films in this festival also provided insightful perspectives on issues pertaining to Muslim politics that you don’t find in the international media. The feature show on the last day, “Companions of the Cave” (Ashab-e-Kahaf), an Iranian movie, was especially inspiring: Sooner or later in history, good prevails over evil, justice over tyranny, and truth over falsehood. The trying times only increase the faith and determination of the believers who speak truth to power.

Of particular interest to me was the variety of topics and regions that were represented in the films in this festival, ranging from North America to Middle East and South Asia. Film's like "Ahlaam", "On Common Grounds", and "Arna's Children" showed the diversity, richness, complexity, even contradictions in Muslim lives and the different ways many Muslims find to cope up with sorrow and injustice. Such diversity and complexity cannot be simplified into any neat categories of "good" (moderate, liberal, enlightened) and "bad" (fundamentalist, narrow-minded, conservative) Muslims, categories so popular in the media these days.

I would really like this bold initiative to continue and prosper in future. The powers-that-be did not allow the organizers to show the scheduled "Pakistan's Double Game", a documentary by Reporter Sharmeen Obaid, on Pakistan's role in the war against terror and its problematics. But by the determination that I was able to observe in the organizers, I can tell, such coercion is not going to affect their spirits a bit. However, what may affect that somewhat is the response from the people. The organizers hope to get even more interest and participation from the Karachiites next year.