Showcasing some of the top-rated movies, the first ever Pakistan Film Festival in the United States will be held in New York from December 3-4.
The Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations will organize the festival at Asia Society, New York.
During two days, audiences will be shown some of the finest films coming out of Pakistan at a time when cinema is undergoing an extraordinary revival in the country.
The films include two brand new ones, which will premiere in New York, “Dobara Pher Say” and “Lahore Say Agay.”
Other movies will include Actor in law, Pakistan’s Oscar nomination, “Mahe Meer,” Oscar award winner Sharmeen Obaid’s animated film, 3 Bahadur, “Dukhtar,” “Dance Kahani” and “Ho Mann Jahan.”
The festival is part of the continuing effort to project the country’s soft power and its achievements in the fields of creative arts.
“Young film makers in Pakistan are producing an incredibly diverse and entertaining array of movies which are contributing to the cultural renaissance underway in the country which is also reflected in the profusion of creative voices found today in Pakistan’s art, music, literature and the media,” Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, the Permanent Representative to the UN, said.
“We are bringing some of Pakistan’s movies to New York so that diplomats from 193 countries at the UN also have an opportunity to see what the country’s entertainment industry is producing,” she added.
The festival will kick off with a red carpet reception on Dec 2 at the United Nations where Ambassadors and representatives accredited to the UN will be invited, as well as members of the Pakistani diaspora, media and film buffs.
A number of celebrities from the film industry will also attend the festival as well as directors and producers of some of the movies being featured.
Ambassador Lodhi has has led cultural diplomacy with a series of events to show Pakistani vibrant culture and its ancient civilizational roots.
A “Sufi Night” at the UN General Assembly hall marked Pakistan Day earlier this year featuring Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, while an exhibition of Contemporary Art from Pakistan at the UN showcased some of the best works of art to demonstrate how Pakistan is becoming a powerhouse of creativity. Lahore Literary Festival held at the Asia Society in New York was also an unprecedented event.
“Cultural diplomacy is an essential part of a diplomat’s job aimed at winning hearts and minds”, Ambassador Lodhi says, adding that “Pakistan has much to offer the world in this regard, and our responsibility is to take this to the international arena.”
