Oscars: Calling all Pakistani filmmakers...

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee has invited Pakistani filmmakers to submit their films for Oscar consideration in the 'Foreign Language Film Award’ category, for the 87th Academy Awards. The deadline for submission is August 25, 2014 at 5pm (PST).

In 2013, the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee selected Zinda Bhaag as the first Pakistani film in over fifty years to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the 'Foreign Language Film Award’ category. Apart from ZInda Bhaag, three other films were submitted to the 2013 committee for Oscar consideration including Chambeli, Josh and Lamha(Seedlings).

The 2014 committee is chaired by Oscar winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and includes veteran Pakistani film-maker, Mehreen Jabbar, Pakistani writer Mohsin Hamid , actor and singer Ali Zafar, Pakistani film director and producer Iram Parveen Bilal, actor-model-singer Meesha Shafi, Samina Peerzada, and actor Nadia Jamil, amongst other prominent figures.

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee will choose one film as Pakistan’s official submission for the, 'Foreign Language Film Award.’ A foreign language film is defined as a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.

The committee will announce its nomination for award consideration on September 15, 2014.

The Academy Awards, now officially known as The Oscars, are a set of awards given annually for excellence in cinematic achievements. The Oscar statuette is officially named the Academy Award of Merit and is one of nine types of Academy Awards, organised and overseen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).

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What the members have to say

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Speaking about the Oscar committee of Pakistan, the members share their thoughts.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy

"The Pakistani film industry is beginning to slowly stand on its own two feet. Filmmakers are experimenting with style and form and we are slowly starting to carve out a place for ourselves in the international sphere. I'm excited to see what our talented filmmakers will bring to the table this year."

Ali Zafar

“It's an honour to be a part of the committee. I am looking forward to some authentic, indigenous and entertaining cinema from Pakistan.”

Iram Parveen Bilal

"Pakistani cinema's true revival depends on making internationally viable films. We must encourage and develop a quality of cinema that stands our ground in the international market, not just Pakistan and Pakistani audiences. My focus in this committee will be voting for a film of such quality that transcends space and time."

Meesha Shafi

“Looking forward to playing my part in the Oscar Selection Committee. What a treat to watch and critique some of the most promising Pakistani films of the year. This is precisely the kind of incentive our filmmakers need to actively produce great cinema and most importantly, dream big!”

Mehreen Jabbar

"I am excited to be part of the committee especially at a time when the trend to make features continues at an accelerated pace in Pakistan. Looking forward to seeing new and exciting work coming out.”

Mohsin Hamid

"It's fantastic to be part of this effort to raise the visibility of Pakistani cinema internationally. Plus, selfishly, it's enormous fun to get to watch all these films. And this year already seems to have many more Pakistani releases than last."

Nadia Jamil

“All the colors, music,textures, the histories, landscapes, romance, the evolving dynamics of tradition and modernity, the songs, the violence, resilience, laughter and tears, the many many layers of the sub-continent and Pakistan’s place in it, no better place to watch and experience these stories than the new exciting, evolving cinema of Pakistan today. I can't wait to watch it all unfold. It's already proving to be an exhilarating and utterly authentic experience.”

Samina Peerzada

“Every film that we create is a testimony that we are alive. I am looking forward to another great year for Pakistani cinema.”

“Zinda Bhaag” nominated for Oscar consideration

The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee has selected “Zinda Bhaag” as the first Pakistani film in over fifty years to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the 'Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 86th Academy Awards.

The film has already bagged four awards in three categories at the Mosaic MISAFF festival held in August this year in Toronto.

Apart from ZInda Bhaag, three other films were submitted to the committee for Oscar consideration including Chambeli, Josh and Lamha (Seedlings). The movie was selected by means of a ballot concluded by the Committee members.

Films selected by each country's Academy selection committee are then submitted for screening, shortlisting and voting with the official Oscar nominees announced at a later date.

“Zindaa Bhaag took a risk in telling a different kind of story and did it in a very innovative way.

It also stayed true to its content and approach and that I feel is a very welcome contribution to the revival of cinema in Pakistan", speaking of the nomination, Committee member Mehreen Jabbar said.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will choose the final nominees for all award categories including Best Foreign Language Film by 8th January 2014.

The complete and final list of Oscar nominees will be announced on 16th January 2014 with a presentation show for the 86th Academy Awards scheduled to take place on 2nd March 2014.

Around 71 films were submitted for Oscar consideration in the Best Foreign Language Film category alone, at the 85th Academy Awards held in 2012. The number of internationally submitted films for this category is expected to be even greater this year.

Well, only time will tell if Zinda Bhaag will make it - Although it’s exciting to see Pakistani movies again strive for an identity after all these years we have seen a number of local releases and many more to look forward to this year.

Speaking about the selection of Zinda Bhaag, Chairperson of the Committee Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy said,

“Pakistan will finally have a film in contention this year at the Academy Awards and I feel proud that today we are taking a small step towards recognizing our own filmmakers.

Zinda Bhaag is proof of the fact that sheer will, passion and talent can achieve incredible feats, and I would like to congratulate the team behind the film on a compelling and cinematic film”.

Zinda Bhaag is a comedy/thriller about three young men trying to escape the reality of their everyday lives through unconventional methods. The journey unfolds tales of circumstances that an average Pakistani's finds themselves in on a daily basis and their desire to set free.

Speaking of the nomination, Committee member Mohsin Hamid said,

"Zinda Bhaag is funny, natural, hip, and casually audacious - A real step forward for contemporary Pakistani cinema and a pleasure to watch”.

“Zinda bhaag is a great film about the price you pay for dreaming dreams, it is painful but true.” added Samina Pirzada who is also a committee member.

Directed and written by Meenu Gaur and Farjad Nabi, produced by Mazhar Zaidi the film features Bollywood legend Naseeruddin Shah, Amna Ilyas and Khurram Patras in leading roles.

Eyeing an Oscar? Not so fast, Pakistan

Industry insiders don’t seem thrilled with the idea of Pakistan’s first Oscar committee.

KARACHI: 

Much like the reactions to her Oscar-winning documentary Saving Face, the response to Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s initiative to form Pakistan’s first Academy award committee also oscillates between warm and lukewarm. Till last week, Pakistan did not have an Oscar committee to shortlist feature films and forward to the Academy for consideration. But while film-makers welcome the move to put Pakistani films on the map, there are some who feel that Obaid-Chinoy’s Oscar victory does not legitimise her credibility to select the committee members.

“We are excited and happy about this development but some questions remain unanswered,” says Shahzad Nawaz, writer and producer of Chambaili. “You and I can gather like-minded people and form a committee, too, if approved by the Academy. But who is to say that this committee is ready to screen films?”

Nawaz echoes the feelings of film-makers when he says that a committee formed to finalise a submission should take film-makers into confidence instead of operating like an isolated hegemony.  “Nobody contacted me even though I have a share in the market,” he adds.

Nevertheless, Nawaz plans to submit Chambaili for an entry if he is approached. He adds, however, that committee members should introduce themselves to the film fraternity in order to ensure transparency – after all, their submissions will become how the world sees Pakistan.

“Both Iran and Pakistan won Oscars last year for films that humiliated and degraded their countries. I don’t propose showing just a rosy picture but I am a patriot and there are certain ways of managing perception and taking your image forward. I’m not saying we should just show flowers and not show the thorns – but at least we should show them in context,” he asserts.

He isn’t the only one questioning the committee’s legitimacy. A well-known film-maker who spoke on condition of anonymity shares his sentiments. “You have academics, theatre artists and actors in this committee, but not a single member is currently making mainstream feature films,” he says.

But as with every debate, there are advocates. Main Hoon Shahid Afridi producer Humayun Saeed believes that the formation of this committee is a winning situation for independent young film-makers in Pakistan.

“It is a positive step in the right direction,” says Saeed. “The doorway to success is now open and it’s a win for upcoming film-makers. Maybe one day I will make a film which is worthy of an Oscar entry.”

Director Jamshed Mahmood Ansari feels that any good development in our country is met with negativity and feedback. “I knew that there would be a huge conspiracy theory surrounding this subject. Pessimism has taken over our environment so much, that there is hardly anything happening in the right direction,” says Ansari.

Ansari recalls that similar theories were circulating when Atrium Cinemas was built and people made fuss over how the whole thing will eventually turn into a monopoly. “That was unbelievable! People criticising the committee haven’t done anything significant for the country,” he adds.

In her defence, Obaid-Chinoy explains the committee’s formation. “The process of forming a committee of this nature is a matter of the country choosing to apply for such a committee. Thus, the responsibility falls on the film-makers of that country, and not the Academy. While I am unsure  [as to] why we failed to submit a film for 50 years, I assume that it is due to our film industry weakening, on a whole,” she says.

“We had to submit a list of committee members to the Academy who then vetted and approved our nominations. We were advised to submit a diverse list of members, from directors and actors to academics and writers. We received approval soon, thereafter, and are now in the process of soliciting submissions for consideration in 2014 award cycle.”

At the end, even if this committee is endorsed by the government, it will be viewed by some as an isolated lobby.  Another question that begs to be answered is which films Pakistan will send forward to the Oscars; the most aesthetically and technically sound or one that revolves around the themes, subjects and treatments that are likely to get attention from a western audience?

The answers are not simple, but given Obaid-Chinoy’s Oscar win for a subject that depicts the plight of acid attack survivors, and the subsequent formation of this committee, now may just be the right time to raise concerns.

Feature films: Will Pakistan end 50-year silence at Oscars?

Pakistan has thus far submitted only two feature films to the Academy.

It’s time for Pakistani film-makers to try their luck at being internationally recognised. The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee is now accepting submissions for the Oscar category of Best Foreign Language Film.

Chaired by film-maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, producer Mehreen Jabbar, author Mohsin Hamid, actor Rahat Kazmi, writer-director Akifa Mian, IBA professor Framji Minwalla and actor-director Samina Peerzada, the committee has announced August 25 as the last date of submission. Its aim is to select one film as Pakistan’s official submission to forward for the Foreign Language Film award category, which considers feature-length motion pictures produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.

While it is unfortunate that despite producing many feature films which could have earned at least a nomination, Pakistan has failed to submit films for this category for 50 years. In 1959,Jago Hua Savera was submitted by film-maker AJ Kardar, while in 1963, feature filmGhungat (The Veil) was submitted to the Academy Award for consideration as Best Foreign Language Film. In an interview with Variety, British-Pakistani film-maker Hammad Khan of Slackistan fame, explains the 50-year absence as a result of Pakistan’s attitude towards cinema as well as political turmoil. “Pakistan has been so preoccupied with coups, wars and religion that cinema has only been reduced to low entertainment by the powers-that-be. It is, of course, monumentally idiotic to ignore the power of cinema in the development of any nation’s narrative,” he says.

Director Iram Parveen Bilal, who has confirmed to The Express Tribune that she will be submitting her film Josh to the Academy, welcomes the formation of the committee. “Having an Oscar nomination committee for Pakistan has been one of my missions for a while – [I am] glad Sharmeen was willing to take the torch to help us form it,” she says. “As film-makers, we make films and should at least have the opportunity to be considered. On an international level it is important for Pakistan to have a voice at the table and be able to represent itself.”

Member Samina Peerzada also sees the committee as a positive sign for Pakistani cinema. “Finally! Young film-makers will have a platform to showcase their talent and, above all, a clear pathway as to how to reach the Oscars. I am delighted to be a part of this venture and am excited about seeing and discussing films. Hopefully there will come a day when one of our feature films will make us proud.”

The Academy Awards, now officially known as The Oscars, are given annually for excellence in cinematic achievements. Journalist and documentarian Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won an Oscar for her film Saving Face in 2012 under the category Best Documentary, Short Subject, in which she highlighted the issue of acid attacks on Pakistani women.

Criteria for eligibility:

1. The motion picture must first be released in the country of submission no earlier than October 1, 2012 and no later than September 30, 2013.

2. The film must be publicly exhibited for seven consecutive days in a commercial motion picture theatre for the profit of the producer and exhibitor.

3. The picture must be advertised and exploited during its eligibility run in a manner considered normal and customary to the industry. The picture need not have been released in the United States.

4. No type of television or Internet transmission may occur at any time prior to the motion picture’s theatrical release.

5. The recording of the original dialogue track as well as the completed picture must be predominantly in a language or languages other than English. Accurate English-language subtitles are required.

6. The film must be feature-length, defined as a minimum of 40 minutes, except for short subject awards, and it must exist either on a 35 mm or 70 mm film print or in 24 frame/s or 48 frame/s progressive scan digital cinema format with native resolution no less than 1280×720.