DECEMBER 1-11, 2005 - PRESS RELEASE:

President Backs KaraFilm Festival

Gandhi Gets A Nod, Iqbal Wins Twice, Gilaneh Triumphs

President Backs KaraFilm Festival

The 5^th KaraFilm Festival – the Karachi International Film Festival 2005 – concluded on Sunday night (December 11) with a glittering ceremony that continued till the early hours of the morning at the PAF Museum. The highlight of the ceremony was the attendance of President Pervez Musharraf and the First Lady, Begum Sehba Musharraf. This was the first time the KaraFilm Festival had invited a chief guest at any of their functions for the last five years. Also attending were the Sindh Governor, Mr Ishratul Ibad, the Sindh Chief Minister Mr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, the Commander 5 Corps, Lt. Gen. Athar Ali and Senator Mushahid Hussain in addition to an array of celebrities from film, television and the media.

The President attended the function for almost two hours, gave away the KaraFilm Ciepie (award) for the Best Feature Film and also spoke at the occasion. In his speech, he reiterated his support for the KaraFilm Festival and promised to do whatever needed to be done to facilitate the revival of the film industry in Pakistan and hoped the KaraFilm Festival would take the lead in doing so. In particular, he lamented the fact that the last two decades had seen film, culture and the performing arts marginalized because of the created perception that they clashed with religion and the national identity. He acknowledged that merely tacit support – such as that provided to the KaraFilm Festival over the last 4 years by the Presidency – was not enough and declared that the support would be strong and unequivocal from now on.

The President also thanked the international delegates and filmmakers who participated in the Festival, and in particular the Indian guests for coming to Pakistan. He told the Indian delegates that he hoped Pakistan and India could resolve all their disputes quickly so more and more interaction could take place between the artists of the two countries.

Earlier, in his Closing Speech, Festival Director Hasan Zaidi had thanked the President for sending out a clear signal to the outside world, through his presence at the Closing Ceremony, that the Pakistan state would no longer marginalize films and considers culture and the arts as important as anything else.

Gandhi Gets A Nod, Iqbal Wins Twice, Gilaneh Triumphs

Anupam Kher walked away with top honours for Best Male Actor in a Leading Role at the 5^th KaraFilm Festival – the Karachi International Film Festival 2005 – for his portrayal of a traumatized middle-aged professor in "Mein Ne Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara" (I Did Not Kill Gandhi) who believes he is responsible for murdering the Mahatma. The jury cited him for his restrained performance in what it said was the toughest category to award given the high quality of acting on display in the films in competition.

Anupam shared the top acting award with Pakistani actor Rehan Sheikh, who won for his portrayal of a desperate young man who makes a Faustian bargain with a documentary film director in the film "24 Ghantay" (24 Hours) directed by Shahid Shafaat. The jury cited Rehan Sheikh's "portrayal of palpable desperation" as he realizes the mistake he had committed.

Anupam Kher had come to the Festival to present his film on the Opening Day of the Festival but was not present at the Awards Ceremony which took place on December 11th. Actor, director and producer Pooja Bhatt accepted the award, known as the Ciepie, on his behalf and spoke about her long association with Mr Kher. It was Pooja's father Mahesh Bhatt who had first given Anupam Kher a break in films in his film "Saransh", whereas Pooja's own debut was in her father's film also starring Mr Kher.

Anupam Kher's wife Kirron Kher had won the Best Female Actor in a Leading Role Ciepie two years ago at the KaraFilm Festival for her work in "Khamosh Pani" (Silent Waters).

Rehan Sheikh's award was accepted on his behalf by director Shahid Shafaat.

Among the other Indians to garner awards at the 5^th KaraFilm Festival were Nagesh Kukunoor (Best Direction) for "Iqbal", Shweta Prasad (Best Female Actor in a Supporting Role) also for "Iqbal" and Sudhir Mishra, Ruchi Narain and Shivkumar Subramaniam (Best Original Screenplay) for "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi" (A Thousand Dreams Such As These).

Nagesh Kukunoor was cited for his "incredibly mature work", for the "emotional simplicity" of his direction and his film's "love of humanity and cricket." Shweta Prasad received a unanimous nod from the jury for her "extremely natural" performance as the young sister of the deaf and dumb cricketer Iqbal and for "holding her own against giants like Naseeruddin Shah." "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi" was cited for its screenplay that "interwove characters with a political message" and for "capturing a certain time and place."

Another film with the Indian diaspora as its subject, "I for India" (directed by the UK-based Sandhya Suri) won the Best Documentary Film award at the Festival. The jury cited the film for its moving and intensely personal story of the immigrant experience, calling the film "emotionally engaging", "refreshingly authentic" and "a human story, wonderfully told."

The German film "Die Fetten Jahre Sind Vorbei" (The Edukators) also walked away with two awards which were received by Dr Petra Raymond, the director of the Goethe Institut in Karachi.

But the biggest winner of the evening perhaps was the Irani film "Gilaneh" which won for Best Feature Film and for Best Female Actor in A Leading Role. Actress Fatemeh Motamed Arya who was on hand to receive the awards – including one from President Musharraf – was cited by the jury for her "remarkable performance that conveyed strength and loss at the same time." The film was also cited for conveying the "rawness of war" and for portraying "the truth that it is often the matriarch that holds up a family in a time of chaos and war."

The 5^th KaraFilm Festival was organized by the not-for-profit KaraFilm Society and is extremely thankful for the sponsorship of Geo TV (Television Partner), PIA (Official Sponsor), Dawn Group of Newspapers (Print Media Partner), DHL (Official Air Express Company), Cinepax (Official Distributor), Lawrencepur (Official Sponsor), Getz Pharma (Official Sponsor), Bose (Official Sound), FM 89 (Radio Partner), Fuji Film (Official Sponsor) and SMS Security (Official Security Company). It also expresses particular gratitude to the Friends of KaraFilm who helped make the Festival possible with their individual donations and to the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, the Alliance Francaise and Iqra University. The 5^th KaraFilm Festival also acknowledges the generous support of the Office of the President of Pakistan, the Federal Ministry of Culture, the City District Government of Karachi, the Alliance Francaise, the British Council, the Goethe Institut, the Consulate General of Italy, and the Indian High Commission