KARACHI: ARY Digital Network set forth the 1st ARY Film Festival which ended on Sunday with a star-studded closing night hosted by the multi-talented Faysal Qureshi and the beautiful Madiha Imam.
The event was attended by top celebrities and personalities from the media and film industry. Amazing performances by Sheema Kirmani, Sanam Marvi and Hamza Qawwal along with a stand-up comedy act by the social media star Danish Ali were held.
The three-day festival screened 33 films, which were short-listed from around 400 entries received from all over the world. The jury included local and international award winning filmmakers, writers and media personalities such as Anwar Maqsood, Khalil Nanitalwala, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Marilyn Agrelo, Ram Kishore Paracha, John Gann, Andy Merkin, Jack McDonald and Amna Khan. The festival also came up with special screenings of internationally-acclaimed films such as Maheen Zia’s ‘Lyari Notes’, ‘Brave Heart – The Lizzie Velazquez Story’ contributed by the American Film Showcase and Anjum Shahzad’s ‘Mah-e-Mir’. Additionally, Academy award-winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s ‘Song of Lahore’ was also premiered at the festival.
The award for Best Story Feature Film was given to ‘Choora Ek Pratha’ and Best Short Film to ‘Amrita & I’; both were screened in collaboration with Delhi International Film Festival. Serajus Salikin won the award for Best Short Documentary for his film ‘Masters of the Sky’ whereas the award for Best Director Short Documentary went to Ali Ijaz for ‘Pangolins in Peril’. ‘In Search of America’ won the award for Best Short Film, Syed Fazal Hussain won the award for Best Actor for ‘Dil Tau Bacha Hai’. Best Documentary Feature award was given to ‘K2 & The Invisible Footmen’ and Maheen Zia’s ‘Lyari Notes’ won the Red Category Excellence in Documentary Feature. Purple Category Excellence in Documentary Feature was given to Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy for her film ‘Song of Lahore’. Anjum Shahzad’s ‘Mah-e-Mir’ won the award for Best Film – Feature.
ARY Digital Network President & Founder Salman Iqbal, in his message about the festival said, “It has been our primary objective since the establishment of ARY Films to develop and foster the film industry in Pakistan. We have now embarked on yet another journey with the first ARY Film Festival, whereby we will provide a break to new and creative filmmakers from Pakistan and around the world to come showcase their talent and get known for their efforts. This is our first year for the festival and we intend to make it bigger and better in the years to come.”
Presented by Italiano and powered by Rooh Afza, the ARY Film Festival did special collaborations with American Film Showcase and Delhi International Film Festival. It was held from Thursday to Saturday at the Cinepax Cinemas, Ocean Mall Karachi.