Award-winning South Asian documentaries were screened on the last day of Vasaakh Film Festival at the Forman Christian College (FCC) that concluded on Wednesday with a cultural evening.
The cultural evening commenced with activities of drum beating, traditional gidda and bhangra. Guests were also treated to buggie rides and were welcomed by students clad in shalwar kurta, laacha, saris and other traditional dresses.
Colours befitting the season of Vasaakh tastefully decorated the stage. The students performed folk dance, kathak dance and Punjabi tappas that represent the Pakistani culture. They also presented classical, jazz and Punjabi songs on the occasion.
The three best contestants’ documentaries were selected and the participants were given prizes. The first prize went to “Poor Man’s Gold” from the National College of Arts (NCA), the second went to “Decade” from the Punjab University’s (PU) Institute of Communication Studies, and the third to “Khuda Zameen Se Gaya Nahi” from the Fatima Jinnah College for Girls. In the category of fiction, the first prize went to “Not to be too loud” from PU, second to “Mehru” by the Lahore College for Women University (LCWU) and third to “Pallet Eye” from the NCA.
Separately, the screenings of selected South Asian award-winning documentaries brought the screening session to an end at the festival. The first documentary that was screened, named “Creacioun Collectiva”, was made by a German filmmaker, Mona, which depicted the lifestyles of people working for theatre.
The next documentary, titled “Kalu” was a Punjabi documentary directed by Naveed Anjum. It portrayed the idea that small things in life really do matter and people do not generally realise their importance.
The students of National Institute of Design sent in the third film, named “One Show Less”. The story was about the poor condition of cinemas, and a painter who went to different cinemas and painted the furniture there. He shared his views about his connection with cinemas since childhood while also commenting on the current situation of cinemas in the country.
The last documentary, titled “The Way of the Road”, gave insight of the Nepal‘s civilization, culture and different rituals. This documentary showed people whose livelihood depended on such rituals. The documentary reflected the difficulties faced by the lower class.
The screening session ended with the promo of a horror movie, Cheekh, made by the FCC students. A question answer session was also held, which threw light on the key ideas of documentary making.
At the end of the event, the German filmmaker, Mona, shared her views regarding Vasaakh and Pakistan. She appreciated the organiser’s efforts and said that the documentaries shown were very good, and gave her an insight to the Pakistan’s culture.
