Director Sarmad Khoosat’s film Lali will open the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle next month, the latest stop on an international festival run that has already taken the film to Berlin, Washington DC and London.
The festival announced on Instagram that Lali will be its opening-night film, screening on October 15 at 6pm local time at the Tasveer Film Centre. The evening will begin with a red carpet, and the cast and crew will take questions from the audience after the screening, followed by a gala dinner with live music.
A festival that can lead to the Oscars
Tasveer is a significant platform for South Asian film. It is the only South Asian festival where a win can qualify a film for Oscar consideration, and this year’s programme features 136 titles, including 21 feature films.
For Lali, opening night caps a strong year. The film premiered in Berlin, won an award in Washington DC and has screened in London.
The story of a ‘cursed bride’
Lali follows Zeba, played by Mamya Shajaffar, a young woman who comes to be called a “cursed bride” after three men who were to marry her die in mysterious circumstances.
The Hollywood Reporter has described the film as one that “examines the fear, shame, and violence that lie beneath intimate relationships”, adding that “with a keen eye for human complexity, it seeks to confront and release the suppressed forces that continue to suffocate many unions”.
Alongside Shajaffar, the film has an ensemble cast that includes Rasti Farooq, known for Joyland, and Meher Bano, star of Churails. The music is by Abdullah Siddiqui.
Seven Pakistani films at Tasveer
Lali is not the only Pakistani work at the festival. It will be joined by Habiba Nousheen’s documentary The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, and five short films by Pakistani filmmakers:
- Tsrak by Farqalit Gharshin
- The Last Glance by Kamran Faiq
- Khazana by Basir Ahmed
- Shireen by Ali Mehdi
- Silence on Set by Ravia Rasool
Pakistan also has a strong history at Tasveer. Wakhri opened the festival’s 2024 edition, alongside an Indian title, and in 2019 Ahmed Ali Akbar’s Laal Kabootar won the festival’s Archana Soy Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film.
Pakistani cinema’s growing reach
Lali is part of a wider moment for Pakistani cinema abroad. Independent Pakistani films have increasingly found audiences at major international festivals in recent years, most notably Joyland, which won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2022, the first Pakistani film to be selected for the festival.
Sarmad Khoosat, a director and actor well known to Pakistani audiences for his television work, has become one of the leading figures in this new wave. His films have drawn attention for tackling difficult social themes with a distinctive visual style.
For Pakistani filmmakers, festival success does more than win awards. It builds international audiences, opens doors to distribution and co-production, and showcases the country’s stories, and its talent, on a global stage. That matters for an industry that has often struggled with limited cinema screens and funding at home. Pakistani designers are enjoying similar moments abroad, with Parishae Adnan closing a show at New York Fashion Week this month.
Why it matters
An opening-night slot at a festival with an Oscar-qualifying award is a significant honour for any film. For Lali, and for the six other Pakistani works in Seattle, Tasveer is a chance to reach new audiences in North America, and another sign that Pakistani stories are earning a place on the world’s screens.
This article draws on reporting published by Dawn’s Images.
Comments
Comments are reviewed by our editors before they appear. Please keep them civil and on topic. See our terms.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your view.