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This year’s Cannes Film Market saw a powerful moment for Pakistani cinema as the Crescent Film Collective (CFC) returned with a panel titled New Wave Pakistan: Telling Global Stories, Rooted At Home. Held at the American Pavilion, the session brought together a group of fearless filmmakers reshaping how the world sees stories from Pakistan.

Moderated by Emmy-nominated filmmaker and CFC co-founder Mohammad Ali Naqvi, the panel was about reclaiming narrative control.

“For so long, the only stories we were allowed to tell were filtered through a Western lens — terrorism, trauma, poverty,” Naqvi told Variety. “We’re finally claiming the freedom to tell our own stories, joyful ones, horrifying ones, romantic ones, on our own terms.”

Naqvi’s docu-film Hanging By A Wire reflects this shift. He showcased exclusive footage from it during Cannes Docs Week, part of the prestigious Marché du Film at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

“It’s a full-on action-thriller,” he explained. “That’s not something we’re used to seeing from Pakistan, and that’s what makes it exciting. It’s made for a global audience, but it’s ours.”

“We’re proud to support the Crescent Collective’s mission to spotlight Pakistan’s creative talent at Cannes. At EBM, we believe in championing local stories that showcase the innovation and spirit of Pakistan on the global stage,” said Shahzain Munir, executive director at English Biscuit Manufacturers, the sponsor of the programme.

The panel, introduced by Rohi Mirza Pandya of Rasa Film Group, featured several other boundary-pushing voices. Fawzia Mirza, the writer-director of The Queen of My Dreams, opened up about what it means to tell deeply personal stories.

Also joining the conversation were Karmash directors Aleem Bukhari and Irfan Noor King, whose short film made it to the prestigious Cannes Directors’ Fortnight — making it the first Pakistani short to do so. “We made it for just Rs50,000,” they shared. “We didn’t make it for Cannes or any festival. We just made the film we wanted to see.”

London-based filmmaker Hammad Khan, best known for cult favourites like Slackistan and Anima State, talked about sticking to his creative instincts, even when others didn’t get it. “Back then, a lot of people pushed back against anything that didn’t fit a certain mould,” he said. “That’s why I always say — make the film for yourself. That’s how you push boundaries.”

From action-thrillers to magical realism, horror to rom-coms, Pakistani cinema is showing it can’t — and won’t — be boxed in anymore. And this panel at Cannes made that loud and clear.