Daily Times

Opportunities are not sought for. Opportunties are created. It is a renowned fact that 19th century writer Marquis de Sade wrote in blood while incarcerated, owing to a dearth of ink or paper. The inner essayist in him did not/could not wait for an opportunity to pen the storm of words inside his head.

But my examples would not limit themselves to vintage French era. Opportunists are born everyday, door builders, glass ceiling breakers, torchbearers, trailblazers, spearheaders and… filmmakers.

If success judges people on the amount of vigour, zeal, passion, dedication and commitment channelled by a person towards his/her work, then I hand it over to two young, inspired dreamers who graduated from the prestigious National College of Arts, Lahore and created a door for themselves to venture out and put forth their ideas on canvas made of a lens and a DSLR, ticking all the aforementioned boxes for us.

Hassaan Ebraheem Raja and Hira Tariq own a Lahore-based production house lovingly titled Barefeet Pictures. A venture which began tentative at first and slowly and gradually propelled towards some recognition, and off late, has produced some of the most iconic, memorable and relatable work for social media and TV, on every imaginable topic.

The duo sat down with us to take us down a memory lane, explaining in detail how they first started out

“We function from a cool and comfy basement that works round the clock. We excel in conceptualising concepts and storytelling through visuals. It was during our freelancing days that both of us had the urge of running our own company where we could have the liberty to manage and create things our own way. It was then that after a lot of professional field experience, in 2012, that we decided to venture out with our company. To be honest, our first two productions were our own thesis films. Luckily, it was during the screening of ‘Aleph’ when our first client approached us,” they tell me.

I find out that it was Hassaan Ebraheem Raja who coined the name of Barefeet Pictures, while walking barefoot in his lawn one evening. “It was just one of those instincts when you feel the search for the right name had ended,” they say.

Barefeet Pictures – after all, every journey does begin with baby steps and I can’t help but wonder how aptly titled their dream venture is.

The duo has met with their share of challenges and troubles. The saturated industry of filmmakers did create hurdles for them to begin with hampering their chances of proving their mettle and by not being taken too seriously in the market.

“We would be standing outside the boardroom for a full-fledge professional meeting and someone or the other would say ‘Ap loge tou bachay hain’, (‘But you guys are only kids’). Other than that, our clients started taking/stealing our ideas and giving them to bigger directors of the industry,” they confess.

However, Hassaan Ebraheem and Hira Tariq did not let this affect their workings and stayed put.

If success judges people on the amount of vigour, zeal, passion, dedication and commitment channelled by a person towards his/her work, then I hand it over to two young, inspired dreamers who graduated from the prestigious NCA and created a door for themselves to venture out and put forth their ideas on canvas made of a lens and a DSLR

Today, Barefeet Pictures has critically acclaimed film ‘Zinda Bhaag’ and ‘Bachana’ (projects they assisted), several workshops, award-winning short films ‘Anjaan’ and ‘Faisala’, advertisements for Lays, 7UP, Mountain Dew, Kashmir Banaspati and Nestle, as well as music videos to their credit. But what is it they really want from life?

“The ultimate aim is filmsets but it’s a long journey that lays ahead. We recently did our first TVC for Rising Sun Institute for Special Children. What an unforgettable experience it has been! We are not bound to any specific medium of filming; we started off from social media heading towards TVCs and hopefully we shall make it to filmsets one day under the Barefeet Pictures banner,” they promise.

Their first work experience was on acclaimed filmmaker Jami’s set.

“He had always been an inspiration and so after actually working with him, the inspiration became stronger. We try to follow his footsteps of work ethics,” they say.

Barefeet Pictures only but recently finished working and posting an inspiring, moving and heartfelt ad for Mother’s Day.

“We are in process of winding up the TVC edit for Rising Sun Institute for Special Children that you will be seeing during Ramadan,” they tell me.

It has been a series of highs and lows that has brought Hassaan and Hira to the point where they stand right now.

“One should know the art of staying self-motivated if they want to achieve their goals. These are solid facts of life. There are all kinds of people you will run into. Some will appreciate you, some will try to bring you down. Just know your worth it and keep moving,” the immensely talented duo say.

Speaking of making presence felt, Barefeet Pictures, as of now, have a full on dedicated Instagram page @barefeetpictures along with a Facebook page that goes by facebook.com/barefeetpictures. But it is their lively and always active/responsive website that I truly adore. It goes by www.barefeet.picture.com.

As I finish my conversation with the young filmmakers, there is promise of producing something stupendously heroic for tomorrow in the air. And as I put my notepad in my bag, and bottle my ink pen, I am convinced Hassaan and Hira will create doors… like Marquis de Sade!