Daily Times

KARACHI: The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee has selected ‘Saawan’ to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the ‘Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 90th Academy Awards.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences will choose the final nominees for all award categories including Best Foreign Language Film in January 2018. The complete and final list of Oscar nominees will be announced on January 23, 2018 with the presentation show for the 90th Academy Awards scheduled to take place on March 4, 2018.

‘Saawan’, directed by Farhan Alam and written and produced by Mashood Qadri, is based on a true story of a disabled child who lives in a valley in the mountains of Balochistan is rejected by his father, intimidated by society, harassed by friends and left alone due to his disability. Strengthened by memories and dreams of the love of his mother, he begins a perilous journey back to his family in the main city. The film features Saleem Mairaj, Syed Karam Abbas, Arif Bahalim, Najiba Faiz and Imran Aslam in the lead roles. The other cast includes Tipu Sharif, Hafeez Ali, Sehrish Qadri, Sohail Malik, Shahid Niazmi, Muhammad Abbas, Danial Yunus, Mehek Zulfiqar and Syed Muhammad Ali. The film won ‘Best Foreign Language Feature Film’ award at the Madrid International Film Festival 2017 and the ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Soundtrack Award’ at Salento International Film Festival in Italy earlier this month.

The committee was chaired by two-time Academy Award and Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and includes Jerjess Seja, Nadeem Mandviwalla, Asim Raza, Momina Duraid, Talat Hussain, Sakina Samo, Rizwan Beyg, Mohammad Hanif and Ali Hamza.

“Today is the happiest day for ‘Saawan’ family. ‘Saawan’ carries a message of hope. The story is based on ‘Voyage for Survival’. Mind is mightier than might is a lesson for those who consider disability a liability. It will be an inspiration to such children to become a valuable asset to the society. ‘Saawan’ promotes understanding and remove misconceptions surrounding polio vaccination that may facilitate polio eradication in Pakistan. Other sensitive topics explored in ‘Saawan’ are water crisis, child trafficking and the bravery of women,” Mashood Qadri said.

“‘Saawan’ is a unified success of robust script-writing by Mashood Qadri, meticulous editing by Aseem Sinha, captivating soundtrack by Emir Iselay, Emmy Award winner sound designer Justin Lebens, brilliant cast, infinite cinematography and thorough crew members dedications. ‘Saawan’ bonds human relations in harmony on a bigger screen. We are humble to receive such an encyclopaedic audience applause and praised with such accolade. Team ‘Saawan’ extends special thanks to GEO Films, specifically Babar Javed, Rehmat Karim Fazli, Sulaiman Lalani and Irfan Alam for all their efforts and support,” Farhan Alam added.

“A well-made and powerful film – script, acting, art direction, cinematography were all executed with precision. Most importantly, it’s emotionally engaging all the way to the end,” Ali Hamza said.

“I feel that our films have strong subjects and artistic statements, however, there are multiple technical departments where we are still lacking. In light of this unfortunate reality, I believe ‘Saawan’ is the best option for Pakistan’s submission for Oscar consideration,” Asim Raza maintained.

Published in Daily Times, September 23^rd 2017.