Daily Times

As much as I realise the skill and filmmaking acumen many of our directors have, and have also proved their mettle in it, I have always considered Mehreen Jabbar as a pioneer of quality filmmaking in Pakistan.

Mehreen Jabbar is not just a recognised and seasoned filmmaker; she is also an acclaimed television director and producer based in New York City. She is the daughter of the famous Pakistani media-person Javed Jabbar.

Mehreen grew up around Pakistan’s show business. Her father Javed Jabbar has been a filmmaker and a very successful advertisement maker apart from being a former Pakistani senator and a cabinet minister. After receiving a Bachelors degree from Saint Joseph’s College in Karachi, Mehreen went to the United States to study film and completed a two-year programme at University of California Los Angeles in 1993, with a Film, Television & Video certificate. She returned to Pakistan and directed and produced drama series/serials under the banner of TasVeer Productions, almost all of which were critically acclaimed.

Audience members viewed over 13 outstanding films from around the world and ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ secured the highest number of First Preference votes

Mehreen is a 20 year veteran of the industry, with a prolific career as director/producer of gritty, hard-hitting films and TV series for Pakistani and South Asian Television which have earned her both critical and commercial success. Mehreen has also made a number of narrative shorts that have been screened internationally in film festivals as well as on TV. Her award winning short films and TV dramas include ‘Daughters of the Late Colonel’, ‘Beauty Parlour’, ‘Douraha’ and ‘Daam’, amongst others. In 2008, Mehreen directed her feature film ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ for which she was awarded the Global Film Initiative Grant. The film premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival and continued a successful festival run. It was later released theatrically in Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom in 2008-09 to wide critical and audience acclaim. ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ was awarded the Fipresci Prize by the International Federation of Film Critics, the Audience Award at the Fribourg Film Festival, Switzerland and an Honourable Mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Award at the London Film Festival. In 2010, Mehreen was invited to screen her film at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), New York.

Her second feature film ‘Dobara Phir Se’ which was shot in New York and Karachi had a successful theatrical release in Pakistan, the UK, USA and the United Arab Emirates in December, 2016.

Mehreen has been a member of the National Board of Film Censors in Karachi, a founding member of the Kara Film Festival in Karachi, Pakistan and a founder member of the non-governmental organisation War Against Rape. In 2012, she was invited to the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda – a non-profit training laboratory founded by director Mira Nair to be a directing mentor. She is the recipient of several awards for her work and has served as a jury member in many local and international film festivals.

‘Ramchand Pakistani’ was Mehreen’s first feature-length film, which was released in Pakistan, India and the UK to wide critical and audience acclaim. The film premiered in the competition section of the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC in 2008. It won the Fipresci Prize from the International Federation of Film Critics and received Honourable Mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Awards at the London Film Festival, 2008 as well as the Audience Award at the Fribourg International Film Festival. The film recently had a week-long screening at the MOMA in NYC.

The Public Award at Fribourg is the fourth major international award won by ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ since its release at international Festivals in 2008

The film also won the popular Public Award (the People’s Choice Award), presented on March 21, the final night of the prestigious Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Audience members viewed over 13 outstanding films from around the world and ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ secured the highest number of First Preference votes. Countries whose films were also featured in the main competition included India, Germany, China, France, Iran, Algeria, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, Chile, Colombia and South Korea.

The Public Award at Fribourg includes a cash prize of 5,000 Swiss Francs for the Producer of the film. The award is sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Jabbar attended the five-day festival as a guest. She answered questions and comments from jam-packed audiences which warmly applauded the film at the end of each of its three screenings.

This is the fourth major international award won by ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ since its release at international Festivals in 2008.

                                            Achievements

STRING OF HIT FILMS & DRAMAS

Acclaimed director Mehreen Jabbar is known for creating memorable and unique films and drama serials. She has directed and produced drama series/serials under the banner of TasVeer Productions, almost all of which are critically acclaimed. Some of her most memorable short films and TV dramas include ‘Daughters of the Late Colonel’, ‘Beauty Parlour’, ‘Douraha’, ‘Daam’, ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ and ‘Dobara Phir Se’.

INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION

In 2008, Mehreen Jabbar’s film ‘Ramchand Pakistani’ was awarded the Global Film Initiative Grant. The film premiered in competition at the Tribeca Film Festival and continued a successful festival run. It was later released theatrically in Pakistan, India and the United Kingdom in 2008-09 to wide critical and audience acclaim. In 2010, she was invited to screen her film at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Her second feature film ‘Dobara Phir Se’ was shot in New York and Karachi and had a successful theatrical release in Pakistan, the UK, USA and the UAE in December, 2016. In 2012, she was invited to the Maisha Film Lab in Uganda founded by Mira Nair to be a directing mentor.

PROMOTING CINEMA AND PHILANTHROPY

Jabbar has been a member of the National Board of Film Censors in Karachi, a founding member of the Kara Film Festival in Karachi, Pakistan and a founder member of the NGO WAR.

RAKING IN THE AWARDS

‘Ramchand Pakistani’ has won the Fipresci Award from the International Federation of Film Critics and received Honourable Mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Awards at the London Film Festival in 2008. Jabbar has also won an Indus Drama Award, Indus Vision Young Achievers Award, Lux Style Awards, Best Director & Best Medium-Length Film at Kara Film Festival, the Pakistan Media Award as well as a nomination at the Hum Awards.

Published in Daily Times, August 26^th 2018.