"2:59 a.m."
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 4 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Script: Uzair Akram
Produced and Directed by: Uzair Akram

SYNOPSIS What do you do when you're stuck with yourself ... your thoughts, your fears, your hopes, desires, demons and just simply stuck in a single minute of time?

The FILMMAKER Born and raised in Karachi, Uzair Akram graduated from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2001 with a degree in Communication Design. He currently works as a freelance designer in various fields of visual media. Mostly interested in digital art and media, he is the brain behind UECHO. Further information on him and his work may be found at www.uecho.com.

"A Tribute To Yousif Machhi"
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 4 MIN / SINDHI

CREDITS
Lyrics, Voice and Music: Muhammad Yousif Machhi
Dance and Acting: Zainub Jawwad
Camera: Zahid Katpar, Ayaz Jokhio
Editing: Baqir
Directed by: Ayaz Jokhio

SYNOPSIS This film is about the experience of listening to an audio tape.

THE FILMMAKER Born in 1978, Ayaz Jokhio is a graduate in painting from the National College of Arts, Lahore. He works as a freelance artist.

“An Actor Prepares”
INDIA / 2004 / 10 MIN / HINDI

CREDITS
Cast: Rajpal Yadav
Cinematography: Shami Nanda
Editing: Abhijeet Rao
Music: Larry Coelho, Chetan Mahajan
Producers: Avanish Upmanyu, Prachla
Directed by: Avanish Upmanyu

SYNOPSIS “An Actor Prepares” presents a day in the life of a struggling actor in the Mumbai Film Industry as he waits for an audition call.

THE FILMMAKER Avanish Upmanyu did his masters in theatre direction from the Indian Theatre Department at Punjab University in Chandigarh. He has worked as a production designer at the National School of Drama, New Delhi, directed and scripted dialogues for various TV serials, served as an executive producer for Sony Entertainment Television and has written and directed a short film titled “5 minutes, 30 seconds”.

“Baig City”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 50 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Concept and Narration: Manizhe Ali
Camera and Editing: Mahera Omar
Produced and Directed by: Manizhe Ali

SYNOPSIS One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Made as part of the Group 101 Films, under the topic of “The Other Side”, this film explores the idea of luxury housing for cockroaches.

THE FILMMAKER An artist, filmmaker, art director and producer, Manizeh is a multi-talented young woman. She has served as art director for a music video, acted and designed sets for television and stage plays, and also taught sculpture and history of art at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. She curated the art exhibition ‘24 Frames per Second’ as part of the 3rd KaraFilm Festival. Since joining Geo Television in the summer of 2002, she has designed sets for some of its most popular shows, most notably “Celebrity Online”, “Bachay Mun Kay Sachay”, “Shadi Online” and “Uljhan Suljhan.” She currently produces dramas for Geo and also hosts “Janu Janwar”, a weekly show on animals.

“Blur”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 4 MIN

CREDITS
Cast: Baba Jee
Editing: Aftab
Produced and Directed by: Ayesha Azhar

SYNOPSIS This film is about a very simple aspect of life. An old man wakes up in the morning and the world he sees is a “blur” until he puts his glasses on. He gets out of bed, goes to pick up his newspaper, and while doing so drops his glasses and his world becomes a blur again. Unable to pick up his glasses at once for his head is in a spin, he gets a flashback from his past life, seeing his family pictures and trophies that he had won as a boy. As soon as he gains control of himself again he picks up his glasses and goes back to bed where he lays down takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes.

THE FILMMAKER Ayesha Azhar is a 22-year-old student of the Indus Valley School of Arts and Architecture, majoring in communication design and minoring in filmmaking. She has a passion for cameras.

“Butterfly”
INDIA-PAKISTAN / 2002 / 23 MIN / URDU-HINDI-ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Tilotama Shome, Adil Hussain, Piyush Mishra
Cinematography: Aseem Mishra
Editing: Aseem Mishra, Harish Chander
Screenplay: Afia Serena Nathaniel
Produced and Directed by: Tanuj Chopra

SYNOPSIS A man and a woman divided by a large white sheet hanging in the middle of a room. What are the possibilities? “Butterfly” is a visually rich film that explores the conflict between love and obligation. Tilotama Shome (Alice, the maid in “Monsoon Wedding”) delivers a sensual performance as Miraal, a free-spirited, young woman who is coming of age. Miraal’s blind father, Ghani (Piyush Mishra), is overtly protective of his daughter since the passing of his wife. When Miraal injures herself, Ghani calls a confident yet unassuming Dr. Aadam (Adil Hussain) to examine her. Yet the examination can only happen under one specific condition – it must be performed through a hole cut in a large white sheet hanging in the middle of the room.

THE FILMMAKER Tanuj Chopra is currently enrolled in the graduate film programme at Columbia University, USA.

SYNOPSIS This film deals with how change happens in our lives. Why do we so often resist change – particularly inner change and transformation? Is there such a thing as “chance” or “coincidence”? There is a Japanese word which means both danger and opportunity.
“Our lives are finely balanced as we ride the waves….” This kind of playful curiosity and conjecture inhabit the film.

THE FILMMAKER As a writer/recorder producer, Steve Coe created World Music’s first mainstream hit in 1982 with Monsoon’s “Ever So Lonely.” He then continued to write and develop a series of successful and pioneering albums on his own label, Indipop. For the last 12 years he has collaborated with vocal diva Sheila Chandra on Peter Gabriel’s Real World Label. “By the Way” is Steve Coe’s first short film. Unsurprisingly, he recorded the soundtrack first and then shot the film. He lives in Berlin.

“Chamber 8”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 24 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Harib Farooq, Omer Qamar, Saadia Sheikh, Abdullah Khan, Amira Farooq
Camera: Shabahat Qamar
Editing: Ishaq Jan, Sabeeh Khan, Shuja ul Haq
Music: Ahmed Butt (E.P.)
Screenplay: Sabeeh Khan, Shuja ul Haq, Amira Farooq
Producer: Omer Qamar
Directed by: Sabeeh Khan

SYNOPSIS “Chamber 8” is a fictional story of a mental patient and his girlfriend who mysteriously disappears. The introduction of a hallucinating, paranoid, drug abusing warden of the mental hospital into their lives and the unfortunate miscommunication sparked by a rumour lead to gruesome consequences.

THE FILMMAKER Sabeeh Khan is a 22-year-old sculpting major at the National College of Arts in Lahore. He is also a fashion photographer and designer whose work has been printed in all the major fashion publications in Pakistan. Moreover, Sabeeh has directed and choreographed a mime and dance performance, has designed the wardrobe for an Abrar ul Haq video and has previously directed a short documentary on the Wazir Khan Mosque.

“Clara Tiene Un Ratoncito”
(Clara Has A Little Mouse)
ARGENTINA / 2003 / 16 MIN / SPANISH

CREDITS
Cast: Graciela Mazza, Silvina Segundo, Lautaro Penella
Camera: Walter Varela, Lujan Montes
Editing: Miguel Schverdfinger
Music: Ana Cardoso
Producer: Barakacine
Directed by: Paula Romero Levit

SYNOPSIS The film is set in present day Buenos Aires. Clara, a homeless woman, lives in the street with her 6-year-old son. Andrea, a social worker, can provide the child with a better life, but this means separating the boy from his mother. The film engages with the similarities and differences of perspective that these two women have regarding the future of the child’s life.

THE FILMMAKER Paula Romero Levit was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and graduated in sociology and journalism. She has studied cinema and scripting and works as a writer in the newspaper Página/12. She has worked on the documentary film “Cazadores de Utopías” (1994-1995), and has been the researcher for “Botin de Guerra” (1999), both of them directed by David Blaustein. She was also the coordinator of the Disappeared People Biographic Archives for the ´Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo´ organization. In 2002 she researched audiovisual archives for the documentary “Estado de Asamblea” by Pino Solanas, nowadays in post production. In 2003 she was the Assistant Director on “Soy tu aventura” by Néstor Montalbano. “Clara Has A Little Mouse” is her first short film.

“Crayons”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 3 MIN 16 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Ibrahim Soni, Muhammad Soni, Samina Soni, Murtaza Zaidi, Ali Abbas Zaidi, Sana Waqar, Umair Jhangda
Camera: Zehra Khawaja
Editing: Aftab Azeem
Producer: Daniyal Ali Khan
Written and Directed by: Zainab Abid Shroff

SYNOPSIS This film explores the feelings and emotions of a 4-year-old child. It tries to portray how children always tend to look at the brighter side of life. They seem to always hold close their happy moments and forget the sad ones. They don’t indulge in self-pity about the bad things that happen and instead hold on to happiness. It’s about the simplicity and innocence of life that we seem to forget as we grow older.

THE FILMMAKER Zainab Abid is a third year student of communication design at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture with filmmaking as her minor. This film is her first project.

“Cuts in Conversations”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 19 MIN / ENGLISH-URDU

CREDITS
Cast: Rubya Chaudhry, Murad Malik, Sumaya Alamgir, Jibran Zuberi, Umair, Khurram.
Camera: Nauman
Editing: Usman Zuberi
Producers: Usman Zuberi, Jibran Zuberi
Written and Directed by: Usman Zuberi

SYNOPSIS Awwal and Rania are two strangers who find out that their spouses are cheating on them. Struggling to come to terms with their lovers' betrayal, they take refuge in drugs and alcohol and end up together on a path to volatility, infidelity and murder!

The FILMMAKER Usman Zuberi is a film and video graduate from Columbia College, Chicago. Apart from working as a producer for Indus TV Network and Geo TV, Usman has also taught film and TV at Karachi University and trained the news crew at Geo TV alongside a team of international media experts. As a Creative Director, he established an independent production studio in Karachi, IndieVisuals. Currently Head of Programming and Creative at Aaj TV, Usman is involved in the overall planning and development of the network, as well as the programming and visual design of the channel. “Value Added Cricket” and “Cuts in Conversations” are Usman’s first short film submissions to the KaraFilm Festival.

“Da-me Luz” (Light Me Up)
PORTUGAL / 2002 / 3 MIN

CREDITS
Animation: Sergio Nogueira, Vitor Lopes, Joao Dias
Painting: Pedro Monteiro, Pedro Rocha, Rui Carvalho
Editing: Carlos Silva
Music: Carlos Pascoinho, Pedro Janela
Screenplay: Cristina Sopas, Sergio Nogueira
Producer: Antonio Costa Valente
Directed by: Sergio Nogueira

SYNOPSIS It’s night time on a large and deserted beach. A man with a deep black hole in his chest becomes the target of an impetuous firefly.

THE FILMMAKER Sergio Augusto dos Santos Nogueira was born in Portugal in 1968. He is a professor of Technologic and Visual Education at Figueira da Foz. He has directed works in graphic design and multimedia. “Da-me Luz” is his first short animated film.

"Death in the Garden of Paradise"
CANADA-PAKISTAN / 2004 / 21 MIN / ENGLISH-URDU

CREDITS
Camera: Nurjahan Akhlaq
Editing: Emily Frazier, Nurjahan Akhlaq
Script: Nurjahan Akhlaq
Produced and Directed by: Nurjahan Akhlaq

SYNOPSIS Based on the unexpected deaths of Zahoorul Akhlaq and his elder daughter Jehan Ara, "Death in the Garden of Paradise" is an intensely personal film about the murder of a painter and a dancer. Using metaphors of haunted space and architecture, it composes an elegy for their untimely deaths. It is also part travelogue, employing notions of fragmented time and space. Interweaving paintings, documentary footage, dance videography and still photographs, "Death in the Garden of Paradise" is a subjective audio-visual essay on mortality.

THE FILMMAKER Nurjahan Akhlaq was born in Anarkali, Lahore in 1979. She grew up between Pakistan, the United States, Turkey and Canada. She studied Cinema at Concordia University in Montreal. She is currently based in Toronto. This is her first film.

"Dhundalka"
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 50 MIN / URDU

CREDITS
Cast: Shabbir Jan, Mohib Mirza, Amer Wajid, Saife Hasan, Ghazal Saeed, Sabir Qureshi, Mansoor Saeed
Camera: Muhammad Rizwan
Editing: Anwer Hussain Jafri
Music: Azfar Hussain
Producer: Sheema Kirmani
Directed by: Anwer Hussain Jafri

SYNOPSIS The film is based on "Dusk", a short story by British writer H.H Munro, popularly known as "Saqi." Two strangers, one a 60-year-old man and the other a young mysterious man meet one evening in a park. The young man relates a strange story about his circumstances and the old man comes to his aid - but who is deceiving whom? This is a story full of twists and surprises.

THE FILMMAKER Anwer Hussain Jafri is a graduate of the fine arts. He did his post-graduation in filmmaking from the School of Audio Visual Studies at the Manchester Polytechnic, UK. His first documentary was aired on BBC- 2. He has also worked as a set designer for PTV. Anwer has written and directed many documentaries and video plays for Tehrik-e-Niswan with whom he has been associated with for the last three years as a writer, director and an editor. His play "Saibaan" was awarded a prize in the PTV festival for Plays on Social Issues.

CREDITS
Audio: Ivan Pavlov
Produced and Directed by: Brigitta Boedenauer

SYNOPSIS The video deals with systems of ‘safeness’ as represented by architecture and the body: reliable structures that are interceded by moments of “touch” from the “outside”. These interferences produce a fragile stability, a constant repetition of fading, melting, collapsing and recomposing. Set to the sound of Ivan Pavlov – in a final cascade of backbones, statues and urban environments – the image itself starts absorbing the rhythm of fluctuation between security and irritation.

THE FIMMAKER Brigitta Boedenauer was born in 1972 and lives and works in Vienna, Austria. She has studied theater and media criticism, and is also an artist, photographer, VJ, and a DJ. Brigitta is currently teaching video editing at a private multimedia school in Vienna. In 1999 she curated “Cinema sonic-lounge”, a three month long experimental video festival in Vienna. Through her videos she tries to generate emotive sequences by reassembling stills (photographic images, graphics, sketches etc) into animated trajectories beyond their original context.

“Ezula”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 1 MIN 41 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Ezula
Cinematography: Alifya Khandwala
Editing: Alifya Khandwala, Sajjad Ahmed
Produced and Directed by: Alifya Khandwala

SYNOPSIS The beloved creation of a scientist turns evil and has to be destroyed.

THE FILMMAKER Alifya Khandwala is a third year graphic design major at the Department of Visual Studies, University of Karachi. She aspires to make a career in filmmaking, and has worked with Everready Pictures as well as a visiting documentary team from Malaysia to help build the requisite experience. This is her first short film.

“Food For Thought”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 2 MIN 20 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Ali Nasir
Produced and Directed by: Syed Ali Nasir

SYNOPSIS A man roams the night in search of food.

THE FILMMAKER Syed Ali Nasir has been making short films for as long as he can remember. After graduating from Tufts University with degrees in Economics and Communication, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked in various jobs including a stint at Disney and a position as a Hollywood actor’s assistant. After getting tired of pandering to large egos, he left Tinsel Town behind to delve into the world of documentaries, a move that took him to locations all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. After a brief stop over at Geo TV, where he served as the Audio-Visual Manager, he is currently looking into turning his filmmaking hobby into a stable career.

“God Likes Watching TV”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 1 MIN 10 SEC

CREDITS
Editing: Ammara Gul Aga
Music: Incubus
Produced and Directed by: Ammara Gul Aga

SYNOPSIS Behold! It is the magic that is TV!

THE FILMMAKER A descendant of the Nazguls, Ammara Gul Aga was born in 1983. Existing simultaneously between this realm and the shadow planes, she was compelled by her dark lineage to acquire a degree in design and filmmaking in an over-arching plot to take over the world (and is currently trying to live with a pimple on her lip.)

“Horroresque Retro Battle Fest”
SCOTLAND-UK / 2003 / 3 MIN 18 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Ewan Robb
Camera: Simon Vickery
Script: Sarah Tripp
Producer: Sarah Tripp for DigiCult
Directed by: Sarah Tripp

SYNOPSIS “Horroresque-Retro-Battle-Fest” describes a young man’s aspirational vision of his cinematic masterwork, an autobiographical film that he pitches to the audience. ‘Horroresque-Retro-Battle-Fest’ is a flash-fiction, half trailer and half pitch that combines 3D animation and DV live action footage to illustrate the protagonist’s idea of the perfect film.

THE FILMMAKER Sarah Tripp has an M.A in Fine Arts from the Chelsea College of Arts. Her previous films include “Anti-Prophet” (2000), “Testatika” (2001), “Inflorescence” (2002), “Plastique” (2002) and “Why Work?” (2002).

“Little Big Head”
SCOTLAND-UK / 2003 / 12 MIN 27 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: William Wallace, Maureen Allan, James Bryce, Gary Hogarth, Vicky Henderson, Steve Martin, Hannah Ford
Cinematography: Ian Dodds
Editing: Dylan John Roodt, Mark Jenkins
Music: Daniel Padden
Producer: Lucy Brown for Cineworks
Executive Producers: David Smith & Clare Kerr
Written and Directed by: David Sandreuter

SYNOPSIS Teachers!! Exhausted by kids who will only pay attention to what they’re interested in?
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THE FILMMAKER David Sandreuter is a long man with a small head. Originally from an arts background, David spent a few years working with a German performance group, creating installations with sound and video, and started an artists group in Dundee to organise events and exhibitions in public spaces. For the past four years, David has been working as a freelance filmmaker and editor making documentaries with a number of community groups, films with school children and has helped set up an unique animation programme in primary schools in Dundee. David is also developing a number of his own projects as both writer and director. David is also working on a collection of short stories and currently holds one of the Highland Council New Media residencies.

CREDITS
Producer: Satish Pendharkar
Directed by: Rani Day Burra

SYNOPSIS Little Varju’s friend, guide and philosopher is his owl - Serwig. Varju’s uncle had promised to give the boy a sound education and Varju’s mother lets him go in the hope her son will be well educated and make a name for himself. But the crooked uncle makes Varju bonded labour. When uncle gives Varju an impossile task, help comes from friend Serwig. The owl’s friendly flute converges every animal in the forest and helps Varju accomplish his task. The horrified uncle is kicked by the donkey, while Varju is lifted upwards and flown through the skies.

THE FILMMAKER Rani Day Burra has a diploma in screenwriting from the Film and TV Institute of India in Pune. She has scripted for, assisted on, and directed and produced a number of documentaries, animations and avertisements. In 1995, she scripted and directed the 20- minute animated tale “Mahakapi” whose design was based on the Ajanta paintings and which won the UNESCO prize for Best Film on National Culture and World Heritage.

“Lust”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 2 MIN 50 SEC / URDU-ENGLISH

CREDITS
Narration: Syed Ali, Syed Ali Nasir
Directed by: Syed Ali Nasir

SYNOPSIS A man comes clean about his other life.

THE FILMMAKER Syed Ali Nasir has been making short films for as long as he can remember. After graduating from Tufts University with degrees in economics and communication, he moved to Los Angeles where he worked in various jobs including a stint at Disney and a position as a Hollywood actor’s assistant. After getting tired of pandering to large egos, he left Tinsel Town behind to delve into the world of documentaries, a move that took him to locations all over Pakistan and Afghanistan. After a brief stopover at Geo TV, where he served as the Audio-Visual Manager, he is currently looking into turning his filmmaking hobby into a stable career.

“My Red Trainers”
UK-PAKISTAN / 2004 / 3 MIN 30 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Monologue: Taimur Khan
Camera and Editing: Mahera Omar
Directed by: Mahera Omar

SYNOPSIS “Hang on a second; let me find a seat…” Red Trainers parks himself on a bench somewhere in the throbbing heart of London city. Sitting next to a pretty boy tourist while watching the world go by, he contemplates the mystery of city folk and pigeons. His biting cynicism barely masks his own insecurities though, as he finds himself oddly uncomfortable in his shiny new red trainers, wondering if the city folk are staring at him instead.

THE FILMMAKER Mahera Omar graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a Bachelor of Arts in biology. After a brief stint doing laboratory research on the structure of proteins at Tufts University, she moved back to the city by the sea, Karachi. Before moving back she had produced numerous TV shows in Boston, most notably “Ek Saher”, a series of conversations between Indians and Pakistanis in the Greater Boston area. While in college, she also co-produced and directed “Dispatches from the Loo”, an independent feature film shot entirely in a loo. Her short film “Piano” premiered at the 3rd KaraFilm Festival. Her other short films include “Makhan Toast”, “Time’s Fun When You’re Having Flies”, “Perspectives in a Cook’s Life”, and “New York, New York.” She currently produces and directs “Janu Janwar”, the country’s first weekly show on animals, for Geo Television.

“New Age”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 2 MIN 25 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Produced and Directed by: Khalid Ali Qureshi and Faisal Shaukat

SYNOPSIS The film deals with a mythology of the new age. Metal, a spiritual element, contains a vast history on its surface. The electrons inside interact with organic compounds and the chemical reaction, which has been going on for thousands of years, cannot be stopped. Now there is a thirst for blood from thousands of years to prove that entropy is just the single step towards endless beginnings.

THE FILMMAKERS Khalid and Faisal are design professionals working at an animation house. The two of them have worked together for the last three years in concept art, music, art direction, character design and animation, design and cinematography. Their goal is to create concept based thematic works that can compete with the international market.

“No Dowry No Date”
UK / 2004 / 15 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Screenplay: Jaimini Jethwa
Producer: Alice Stilgoe
Directed by: Jaimini Jethwa

SYNOPSIS “No Dowry No Date” is a comical, colourful spoof dating game show with three brides and a bridegroom, accompanied by his mother. Who will the handsome Mr. Karachi choose as his lucky bride tonight?

THE FILMMAKER Jaimini Jethwa studied photography and filmmaking from the University of Westminster in London before proceeding to obtain an MA in screenwriting. She divides her time between teaching film and writing for features, with two feature-length scripts already to her credit. She has also free-lanced as a camera operator and editor for documentaries.

“Noise”
PAKISTAN / 2003 / 3 MIN 35 SEC

CREDITS
Cast: Umar Dar, Ahsan Jamal, Ali Naqi
Directed by: Syed Muhammad Raza Zaidi

SYNOPSIS “Noise” is a metaphor. It focuses on the clash of the conscious, subconscious and unconscious states of mind. The things that we consciously avoid, unconsciously become a part of our lives.

THE FILMMAKER Born on the 4th of December, 1970, Raza did his M.A (Honors) in Visual Arts from the National College of Arts.

“O Beijo” (The Kiss)
PORTUGAL / 2002 / 15 MIN / PORTUGUESE

CREDITS
Cast: Pedro Almeida, Miguel Martins,
Vanessa Ressurreicao
Cinematography: Pedro Macedo
Editing: Pedro Baptista, Eurico Bastos
Music: Miguel Braga
Producers: Antonio Costa Valente
Directed by: Pedro Baptista

SYNOPSIS Three young friends, Henrique, Joao and Sara are spending an afternoon at a popular fair. Between the playroom and the ghost train, they discover the beginning of teen-hood and the wonder of love. Life is a merry-go-round where you have to learn to walk…

THE FILMMAKER Pedro Baptista was born in Portugal in 1974. He has made the films “Requiem for Teresa”, “Tic-Tac”, “Night When Everything Goes Wrong”, “Xeque-Mate”, and “Baby Boom.”

“O Say Can You See?”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 2 MIN 7 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Concept: Ammara Gul Aga, Sheila Naz Faizi
Editing: Ammara Gul Aga
Produced and Directed by: Ammara Gul Aga

SYNOPSIS The film takes a strong stance against the saying “Truth, Justice and the American way”, as well as the glorified symbolism of the flag, which hides the suffering America has caused around the world.

THE FILMMAKER Descendant of the Naz Guls, Ammara Gul Aga, born in 1983, exists simultaneously in this realm and the shadow planes. Her dark lineage compelled her to acquire a degree in filmmaking and communication design in an overarching plot to take over the world! (And she is currently trying to live with a pimple on her lip).

CREDITS
Cast: Neil McKay, John Comerford, Sara Vickers, Laura Vickers, Tommy Fleming
Cinematography: Ossie Mclean
Editing: Ray Tallan
Music: Daniel Padden
Producer: Anna Duffield for DigiCult
Written and Directed by: Zam Salim

SYNOPSIS Soon after breaking up with his girlfriend, Mia, Junior Bob is visited by a middle-aged man who claims to be his future self. This Senior Bob has returned to get him back with Mia. She was the best thing that ever happened to him; he didn’t realise it until it was too late. And this must not happen again. Junior Bob has to commit himself. He has to propose. But how can he truly desire her if he’s never lost her?

THE FILMMAKER Zam Salim is a Glasgow-based director/ writer/ producer/ editor who has made a number of award-winning short films. One of his most recent films “Cold Light of Day” was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Short Film and also won the prestigious Jim Poole Award 2003. He is currently editing a short film he directed for the Digicult initiative as well as directing TV commercials where he works with 16, Super 16 and 35mm formats. He has also completed co-writing a feature-film script “Runners” that he intends to shoot very, very soon.

“The Other Side”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 4 MIN 34 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Taimur Ali Khan, Rubab Hasan
Written and Directed by: Uzair Akram

SYNOPSIS “The Other Side” explores the state of loneliness of an individual who goes to all lengths to be at peace again. In doing so it explores the other side of the mirror, questioning our control as individuals upon the decisions that we take. Are we to be held responsible for our actions? Or are we merely the reflection in the mirror of life ... driven by choices our respective counterparts are making on the other side of the mirror... The film also explores the duality of conflict, both inner and outer, as two seemingly separate individuals; each other’s reflection, attempt to be one with themselves and therefore each other.

THE FILMMAKER Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Uzair Akram graduated from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2001 with a degree in Communication Design. He currently works as a freelance designer in various fields of visual media. Mostly interested in digital art and media, he is the brain behind UECHO. Further information on him and his work may be found at www.uecho.com.

“Pariah”
USA / 2004 / 13 MIN

CREDITS
Cast: Vivek Bharatman, Benjamin Weber
Producer: Sehban Zaidi
Directed by: Sehban Zaidi

SYNOPSIS A US soldier stumbles on a Pakistani man in a frozen tundra. The two lost men and their interactions symbolize the state of the world.

THE FILMMAKER Sehban Zaidi was born in Karachi on the 14th of November, 1981. He attended Karachi Grammar School and went to study at Oberlin College in Ohio. He is currently studying film at New York University. His filmic sensibilities are shaped by the city he grew up in and loves dearly.

“Samovar”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 16 MIN / PUSHTO

CREDITS
Cast: Mohommad Zeeshan, Altaf Rehman, Sher Shah, Zulfiqar Ahmed, Mohommad mazhar, Alam Khan, Momin Khan
Cinematography: Nadeem Khan
Editing: Imran Niazi
Producer: Hammad Khan
Written and Directed by: Hammad Khan

SYNOPSIS Set in the north-western city of Peshawar, ‘Samovar’ is the story of Awais, a frustrated young graduate who desperately seeks hope in the form of employment. With the cloud of religious extremism and social conservatism hanging heavily over his world, Awais finds it difficult to avoid locals like Hidayat and Ahmed, two religious zealots who want to recruit him in their path of radical militancy. Walking aimlessly through the backstreets of an entirely male-dominated city, feeling the ever-rising pressure if his surroundings, Awais can only retreat to one refuge – a dark, smoky cinema hall that illegally screens pornography. However, when the cinema is raided, Awais’s outlet for release is also closed shut.

THE FILMMAKER Hammad Khan began his life as the child of a political refugee, landing in the UK at the age of three when his parents fled the martial law regime of General Ziaul Haq. At 16 he saw “Taxi Driver” and felt the raw power of films, which could explore the human condition. He studied for a law degree back in the UK and qualified as a Barrister from Lincoln’s Inn. Initially opting to pursue both his professional aptitude and film interest, Hammad was selected as a film examiner for the British Board of Film Classification. “Samovar’ is Khan’s first short film.

“Satori”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 39 MIN 45 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Aaminah Haq, Naeem Haq, Ather Hafiz, Prof. Orpheus Augustus Marcks, Jansher Khan, Zahid Warris & the Mughulpura Group
Cinematography: Aaminah Haq, Ammar Belal
Producers: Aaminah Haq, Ammar Belal
Directed by: Aaminah Haq, Ammar Belal, Sikander Mufti

SYNOPSIS The film revolves around a spiritual awakening sought in Zen Buddhism. “Satori” plays upon the premise of a typical revenge film from Hong Kong, and uses symbolic reference from a plethora of films that have been made regarding the rivalry between Chinese and Japanese martial arts schools. The story supports the philosophy of yin and yang and the eternal struggle between love and hate. “Satori” encompasses the sudden spiritual awakening and acceptance of one’s fate and destiny through the choices we make and the paths we take.

THE FILMMAKERS Ammar Belal has launched A.B.C.D, a casual western wear label in Pakistan. He is well known for his ad campaigns touting “real fashion for real people.”
Aaminah Haq has been a model for the last eight years. She has received the Lux Style Awards’ best actress nomination consecutively for the last three years. She is the face behind many ad campaigns and was a syndicated columnist for The Friday Times. “Satori” is her directorial debut.
Sikandar Mufti is a percussionist and filmmaker and was part of the original team at Lahore’s Matteela. Currently working with Zu TV in Karachi, Sikandar first short film, “Voice Vendor” was shown at the 2nd KaraFilm Festival.

“Scribble”
UK / 2004 / 4 MIN

CREDITS
Cast: Erica Rogers
Cinematography: Philip Robertson
Editing: Johanna Jalonen
Producer: Richard Dawson
Written and Directed by: Faisal A. Qureshi

SYNOPSIS A transcriber is busy working with progressively archaic technology in a small hive-like office. She is competing against a counter which monitors her progress.

THE FILMMAKER Faisal A. Qureshi had his first success when he won the Channel 4/Lloyds Bank Film Challenge in 1994. He has won and been short-listed for various screenwriting competitions, both in the UK and abroad. After graduating in biochemistry and molecular biology, he received an MA in film production from the Northern Film School and now works as a freelance editor specializing in short dramas. He has also lectured on editing at various educational institutions including the EICTV in Cuba. He is currently developing a TV series project at the BBC Fictionlab and developed a sitcom, “Cabbie”, as part of the BBC New Writing Initiative. He is also writing various scripts for DNA films, Dan Films, and the First Film Foundation.

CREDITS
Cast: Shalalae Jamil
Camera: Russell Watson
Produced and Directed by: Shalalae Jamil

SYNOPSIS An uncomfortably revealing, hopefully witty, honest look at myself.

THE FILMMAKER Shalalae was born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan. She received her undergraduate education at Bennington College, Vermont. At present, Shalalae is doing her BFA in photography from the Art Institute of Chicago and is planning to do her MFA in Film, Video and New Media in 2006.

“Separated By Light”
USA / 2004 / 14 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Rebecca Phares, Frank Mosley, Mario Mims, Erin Kennedy Wilcox, Elise Baughman
Cinematography: Christopher Simpson
Editing: Martin Spirit
Music: Joshua Jacob
Producers: Johnny Rutledge, Christopher Simpson.
Written and Directed by: Sai Selvarajan

SYNOPSIS A girl named America sets out looking for ‘inner’ freedom. She interviews people in her neighborhood and documents her findings on Super 8 film. A series of events unfold on the Fourth of July that causes America to look inside herself for her ‘inner’ freedom.

THE FILMMAKER Sai Selvarajan was born on a Wednesday night during a coup d’etat. He grew up in Nigeria eating bananas and playing soccer. After a brief stint in the U.K. Sai moved with his parents to Dallas, Texas, at the age of nine. He graduated from the University of Texas in Arlington with a degree in Film in 2001. Sai spends his days editing at a post house in Dallas. He spends his nights dreaming, writing, thinking, and typing. Sai cries a lot, but he also laughs a lot. It’s really weird for Sai to be writing about himself in the third person.

“Swan Song”
SCOTLAND-UK / 2003 / 5 MIN 31 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Kevin J Kelly, Louise Ironside, Jack Martin, Paul Murray, Imogen Parry, George Parry, Mary McCusker, Tom Freeman, Stephen Deazley
Cinematography: Balazs Bolygo
Editing: Steven Love, Blair Young
Screenplay: Joern Utkilen
Producer: Abigail Howkins for DigiCult
Directed by: Nicholas Bone

SYNOPSIS A man on a mission meets delays from a militant lollipop man, a boy on scooter and a zimmerframe-toting pensioner before a waterside showdown and a date with destiny, tutus and Tchaikovsky.

THE FILMMAKER Nicholas Bone is a Scotland-based director. “Swan Song” is his first film and was premiered at the Raindance Film Festival in London in 2003. He is Artistic Director of the theatre company Magnetic North, for which he has directed “Word for Word” and “The Dream Train.” His theatre work includes many new plays, among them “Skunk Hour” (lookOUT Theatre), “Safe Delivery” (Jumping Genes) and “Territory of the Heart” (Theatr y Byd). He has also directed many operas including “Lucia di Lammermoor and Martha” (Haddo House Opera), “Paradise Moscow”, “Hansel and Gretel”, “L’enfant et les sortileges” (Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama), “Peter Grimes” (Co-Opera Kent) and “Così fan tutte” (Music Theatre Kernow).

“Timor Loro-Sae”
PORTUGAL / 2003 / 11 MIN 49 SEC

CREDITS
Editing: Carlos Silva, Vitor Lopes
Producer: Cinema Club de Avanca
Written and Directed by: Vitor Lopes

SYNOPSIS “Timor Loro Sae” is a 35mm animation short-film that deals with the history of Timor in a creative and personal way. With images of near-graphic violence and crudeness, Vitor Lopes balances Timor's recent history with the Oniric force of legends and traditions that mark the creation of the Timorese territory.

THE FILMMAKER Vitor Lopes is one of the most internationally awarded Portuguese animation directors, with a career marked by films such as “Massacre of the Innocents” and “Disenchanted Stories.” “Timor Loro Sae” was recently in competition in Bologne (Italy), San Roque (Spain), Pittsburgh (USA), Positano (Italy), Taipei (China), Badajoz (Spain) and Jena (Germany).

“The Tree Officer”
SCOTLAND-UK / 2003 / 7 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Voices of Peter Clerke, Johnny Meres, Noreen Leighton
Animation: Neil Jack
Editing: Simon Blakeley
Music: Neil Jack
Producer: Cameron Fraser for Cineworks
Written and Directed by: Neil Jack

SYNOPSIS “The Tree Officer” is a stop-motion animated comedy shot in a documentary style. Set in the Tree Officer’s department of a town council, it focuses on the day-to-day running of the office, and in particular the Tree Officer, Gary Dremmell. Passionate about botany and horticulture, Gary is wearied by the endless requests from the town’s citizens for trees to be cut down. Resigned to his fate, he signs his daily quota of death warrants with an air of droll melancholy, assisted by his two colleagues: Matt, a sardonic temp with a stapling addiction; and Avril, a dedicated worker with an unreliable arm and a dysfunctional relationship with technology.

THE FILMMAKER Neil Jack is an award-winning stop-motion animator and writer/director. His college graduation film, “Mr Grimby’s Video Diary” has won awards from Scottish Students on Screen (2002) and Glasgow’s Reel to Real festival (2002), and was nominated for an award at the British Animation Awards (2002). As a result of this success, he was commissioned in early 2003 to write and direct a 4-minute educational short for BBC Wales, “The Shaft Chambers Story.” Immediately after this film’s completion, he was awarded Cineworks funding to direct his own stop-motion short, “The Tree Officer”, which was completed in December 2003.

“Value Added Cricket”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 4 MIN / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Concept and Editing: Usman Zuberi
Producer: IndieVisuals
Directed by: Usman Zuberi

SYNOPSIS The onslaught of advertising in a cricket match transmission is a new trend invading our TV screens. The viewing experience of the game has diminished due to the abnormal frequency of television commercials, product templates, on-screen logos and other forms of advertising throughout the match. This trend is a direct result of the intense rivalry amongst channels and their quest to grab maximum share of the pie. “Value Added Cricket” shows what the historic Sharjah final (of Miandad sixer fame) would look like if it was televised in the present time.

THE FILMMAKER Usman Zuberi is a film and video graduate from Columbia College Chicago. Apart from working as a producer for Indus TV Network and Geo TV, Usman has also taught film and TV at Karachi University and trained the news crew at Geo TV alongside a team of international media experts. As a Creative Director, he established an independent production studio in Karachi, IndieVisuals. Currently Head of Programming and Creative at Aaj TV, Usman is involved in the overall planning and development of the network, programming and the visual design of the channel. “Value Added Cricket” and “Cuts in Conversations” are Usman’s first short film submissions at the KaraFilm Festival.

“Your Beautiful World”
PAKISTAN / 2004 / 2 MIN 20 SEC / ENGLISH

CREDITS
Cast: Rosy D’Souza
Poem and Voice: Manizhe Ali
Camera and Editing: Mahera Omar
Producer: Manizhe Ali
Directed by: Manizhe Ali and Mahera Omar

SYNOPSIS Made as part of the Group 101 Films, under the topic ‘deep’, this film is based on a poem by the director. Though on the surface the film appears almost clichéd in its interpretation of the topic, yet at a deeper inspection, it is more about the incomprehension and helplessness that accompany despair, than about killing one’s self.

THE FILMMAKERS An artist, filmmaker, art director and producer, Manizhe is a multi-talented young woman. She has served as an art director for a music video, has acted and designed sets for television and stage plays, and has also taught sculpture and history of art at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture. She currently produces dramas for Geo and also hosts “Janu Janwar”, the country’s first weekly show on animals.
After a brief stint doing laboratory research on the structure of proteins at Tufts University, Mahera Omar moved back to the city by the sea, Karachi. Before moving back she had produced numerous TV shows in Boston. Her short film “Piano” premiered at the 3rd KaraFilm Festival. Her other short films include “Makhan Toast”, “Time’s Fun When You’re Having Flies”, “Perspectives in a Cook’s Life”, and “New York, New York.” She currently produces and directs “Janu Janwar.”

“Ze e o Pinguim” (Ze and the Penguin)
PORTUGAL / 2003 / 10 MIN / PORTUGUESE

CREDITS
Executive Producer: Antonio Costa Valente
Directed by: Francisco Lanca

SYNOPSIS Ze feels tortured by the constant arguing of his parents. His only friend is a soft toy, a penguin which comes alive when they are alone.

THE FILMMAKER Francisco Lanca is one of the most respected animation directors in Portugal and one of the most important illustrators of the present time. He was born in Lisbon in 1957 and studied visual-arts, image and drawing there. He has participated in several painting and illustration exhibitions. He is also a founder-partner of the Cartoon Portugal (association of Portuguese animation professionals). Currently he works at the IMAGINARIO Animation Studios, as a director and producer.