October 25, 2019, Karachi: The second edition of Pakistan International Film Festival, held under the banner of Karachi Film Society kicked off with special screenings of Bilal – A New Breed Hero, Earth Heroes, Quaid Say Batain and Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor, and a seminar on the “Potential of Animation in Pakistan”.
Special screenings of the animated movies were organized for the underprivileged students from various parts of the city. Participating schools included JS Academy for the Deaf, Tadrees, Karachi Schools’ Guide and the Young Patriots School. DG Rangers Sindh Major General Umar Bukhari and president KFS Sultana Siddiqui attended the screenings held at the Capri Cinema in Karachi and appreciated the kids’ enthusiasm to participate in creative activities. They also encouraged the kids to pursue their dreams. DG Rangers said children should dream of becoming whatever they want to in the future and it was his wish that one day one of the students might become a DG Ranger or a good filmmaker and be able to show his film to kids like them. He also appreciated the efforts of KFS in organizing such activities and giving young people the incentive to become something in life.
Seminar on the ‘Potential of Animation in Pakistan – Challenges & Opportunities’ discussed the issues and challenges faced by the animation industry of Pakistan. Moderated by Filmmaker Sana Tauseef who produced animated film ‘TikTok’ in 2018, the panelists Amyn Farooqui, Co-CEO/Co-Founder & Creative SHARP IMAGE; Daniyal Noorani, CEO – Wakhra Studio /Creator Quaid se Batein; Aziz Jindani, Founder – Talisman Animation Studio, Creative Director ‘The Donkey King’; Arif Jilani, Producer Barajoun Entertainment, BILAL – A New Breed of hero and Imran Ali Dina, Lecturer/ GFX Mentor and Asif Iqbal Bridge Animations &VFX -Chief Executive Officer discussed at length the quality and content of animated films produced in Pakistan and the reasons behind losing good human resource to foreign countries. Chief guest of the seminar was Mr Murtaza Wahab – Advisor to Chief Minister of Sindh on Law, Anti-corruption, Establishment and Information.
Speaking on the occassion, Sultana Siddiqui said, “We started PiFF with the support of Sindh and Federal government last year and despite the limited resources this year, all the members of KFS decided to hold the festival on the animation industry this year. The reason behind dedicating this year’s PiFF to the animation industry is obviously its huge potential to grow. Despite the limitation and lack of resources, our animators have done a great job recently. I would request the government to facilitate us by granting a tax-free status to our film industry for at least 10 years so the industry can grow and produce good quality films.”
Speaking on the occassion Mr Murtaza Wahab said, “Sindh Government has been supporting KFS and PiFF since its inception and will continue to do so in the future. We (Sindh government) will facilitate the film industry in every possible way. It is an opportunity not only for the people associated with the industry but for the Provincial Government as well to show the positive side of our province through films and to encourage youngsters to join an industry which has a huge potential to grown. Sindh Government can definitely look into the “services tax” on films but granting a tax-free status to the industry is not in our jurisdiction.”
Mr Murtaza Wahab also complemented KFS for taking the initiative and discussed the possibility of a public-private partnership to train young resource.
Karachi Film Society is a non-profit organization and parent body of Pakistan International Film Festival (PIFF), founded by renowned producer/director Ms. Sultana Siddiqui. Other notable members of KFS are Jamil Baig, Ameena Saiyid, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Sirajuddin Aziz, Javed Jabbar, Ronak Lakhani and Sayeeda Leghari. The festival is supported by the Government of Sindh through its Department of Culture.
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Nasar Khan