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The London Pakistani Film Festival (LPFF) 2024 has announced its film selections for its first edition. The titles are The Legend of Maula Jatt, Nayab, Zindagi Tamasha, Gunjal, Before Nikkah, The Martial Artist — in its UK festival premiere — and the first episode of the web series Farar.

The screenings will be followed by question and answer sessions, including a discussion on the present and future of the Pakistani film industry and a panel on artificial intelligence in filmmaking. Panellists will include producers and actors Shaz Khan and Faran Tahir of The Martial Artist; executive producers David and Agnes Kenny, director Umair Nasir Al, producers Rumina Umair and Umair Irfani of Nayab; Gunjal producer Nighat Akbar Shah, director Shoaib Sultan and actor Amna Ilyas; Before Nikkah director Haider Zafar with the cast of the film; director Mehreen Jabbar and actor Aliee Sheikh from the web series Farar, and actor Sherry Shah and actor-director Shamoon Abbasi on their upcoming AI-made series 9 Hours.

The LPFF, an annual event conceived to celebrate and highlight the diversity in Pakistani films and dramas, is set to commence from October 1 in London. The four-day festival is supported by LPFF partners Rich Mix Cinema and Garden Cinema. Showtimes for films can be found on LPFF’s and the respective theatres’ websites.

The festival closes with a panel by City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage and Libraries committee Chairman Munsur Ali, LPFF CEO and founder Assad Khan, producer and actor Shaz Khan, House of Advertising CEO Hassan Zuberi, along with film distributors and cinema exhibitors at the London Guild Hall on October 4.

A project of Positive Action Through Creativity (PAC) — a UK registered charity — LPFF is founded by Assad Khan and co-founders Mansur Ali, Shoaib Qureshi and Kamran Jawaid. Jawaid, through his film production and distribution company Anthem Films, also serves as the festival’s director, while Geo Television Network is the official media partner.