Zindagi Tamasha may not have seen the light of the day in Pakistan, but it is receiving accolades and recognition internationally.
Pakistan’s official entry to the Oscars, Zindagi Tamasha bagged the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 6th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) held on March 15. Lead actor Arif Hassan won the Snow Leopard Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film. Director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat received the award from Jury member Luba Balagova Kandoor, while Jury member Joanne Goh presented the award to Hassan.
According to a press release, “Almost 40 films from over 20 participating countries were presented during the six-day Festival that included 11 Oscar submissions for Best International Feature Film and 12 Golden Globe submissions for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language.”
Directed and co-produced by Khoosat and written by Nirmal Bano, Zindagi Tamasha features Hassan, Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz and Ali Kureshi in the lead roles. The film is centred around a naat khwan Rahat Khawaja (played by Hassan) and his family who are outcast from society when a video of him enjoying a song is leaked. The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival held in October 2019 where it also won the prestigious Kim Ji Seok Award.
The official synopsis states: “The film is an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth who police our private passions.”
Meanwhile, Zindagi Tamasha is yet to release in cinemas in Pakistan. It was initially scheduled to hit screens on January 25, 2020, but immense backlash from religious circles forced the federal and provincial government to halt its release. However, in July 2020, the Senate HR committee cleared the film and allowed it to be screened once cinemas open post-COVID-19.
While the director and team are yet to comment on their big win, Wahab Riaz congratulated the makers of the film for their achievement.
About the Asian World Film Festival
The Asian World Film Festival (AWFF), founded by Kyrgyz public figure Sadyk Sher Niyaz, brings the very best of a broad selection of Asian World cinema to Los Angeles to draw greater recognition to the region’s wealth of filmmakers and strengthen ties between the Asian and Hollywood film industries. Uniting through cross-cultural collaboration, the Festival champions films from over 50 countries across Asia, spanning from Turkey to Japan and from Russia to India and South-East Asia. The Festival is unique in that it predominantly screens Oscar and Golden Globe submissions for Best International Feature Film and Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language respectively. All films are showcased to members of the Motion Picture Academy, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and all Guilds for enhanced exposure, media attention and awards consideration. AWFF is a non-profit organization under Aitysh USA.
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