A film festival featuring short films by young and independent filmmakers opened at the Nueplex Cinemas.The organisers of the Nueplex Film Festival said it was a three-day event to celebrate of young and independent filmmakers trying to create cinematic magic despite limited experience and resources.The event is the brainchild of businesswoman Tooba J Baig, who is also an aspiring filmmaker and the project director of the film festival.
According to the organisers, the goal of the festival is to bridge the gap between unexplored talent and the Pakistani film industry. Most of the directors being featured are in their twenties, and are film and media students enrolled at universities.These directors often remain untapped while they struggle to find their way into the Pakistani film industry due to lack of opportunities, the organisers said. “Through this festival, we are giving aspiring filmmakers the opportunity to connect with established members of our film fraternity,” they added.A total of 19 short films, which are between seven and 27 minutes long, are to be screened in the first two days of the festival. These films will be judged by a jury, including director Nadeem Baig, actor Humayun Saeed, writer Zanjabeel Asim Shah, writer Bee Gul and director Sirajul Haq.
On the third and last day of the festival, the jury will announce nine awards in the categories of best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best screenplay, best sound design, best cinematography, best editing and best production design. The three-day event explores a wide range of unexplored genres in films and also provides emerging female directors an opportunity to showcase their work in a male-dominated industry.
