Feelings are quite high since we first heard this really positive news in the morning today about the latest Pakistani independent film, Seedlings a.k.a Lamha, bagging two awards at the New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF).
The movie was nominated for seven categories actually:
Best Feature Film – Seedlings (Lamha)
Best Director – Mansoor Mujahid
Best Original Screenplay – Summer Nicks
Best Lead Actress – Aamina Sheikh
Best Lead Actor – Mohib Mirza
Best Supporting Lead – Gohar Rasheed
Best Musical Score – Usman Riaz
And managed to bag two awards in the categories of, Best Lead Actress (Aamina Sheikh) and Best feature film–audience choice award.
Aamina having a deep smile on her face was the center of limelight as she got the ‘Best Female lead’ award; especially while the Academy Award winning American actress Tatum O’Neil and Chinese super star Xiaolu Li were also amongst the nominees. This is Aamina’s first ever appearance at silver screen, and scoring this high in her maiden feature project, really speaks for her worth as an actress.
The film is produced by Bodhicitta Works in association with ICE Animations, and is directed by Mansoor Mujahid, who also made his directing debut through the film. He too really deserves a lot for his work and we hope we get to see more from him in the future.
Not only that, the producer Mehar Jafri, screen writer Summer Nicks, Mohib Mirza–who played the male lead in the movie, supporting lead actor Gohar Rasheed, and Usman Riaz as the music composer, all deserve a great appreciation for their bits in the film.
International media like Oman Tribune and Indiawest have also been reporting about Seedlings’ nominations and its premier in NYCIFF. According to the producer, Mehar Jafri, Seedlings was included in 100 films being screened during the NYCIFF 2012, from 9th to 16th August.
This is not the first time a Pakistani artist or film has won awards internationally but it still worth a lot and is going to be a blow of fresh air while our industry passes through some really critical times.
The film will also release in Pakistan in coming months, for now you can enjoy it’s newly released trailer. We at Galaxy Lollywood not only congratulate the ‘Team-Seedlings’, but also feel extremely proud of their work and achievements.
The article is written by Husne Takhleeq and edited by Aayan Mirza.
