5 reasons why you should attend the It Happens Only in Pakistan film festival in Karachi this weekend

Do you love films? Concerts? Food? This Sunday, Germany’s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) and Dawn.com are hosting an event that celebrates Pakistani filmmakers. It’s being held at District19 from 3pm to 10pm and we don’t think you want to miss out on this one.

The event marks the fifth year of gathering the Pakistani film community to showcase their talent through the It Happens Only In Pakistan film contest between Dawn and DW. The annual nationwide video contest invites both professional and amateur filmmakers to submit short documentary-style videos that capture subjects that are uniquely Pakistani. The film festival is not strictly a film screening with an award ceremony though — it’s a bunch of cool things happening at a single venue.

Here are five reasons why you should attend.

You get to enjoy some great work by Pakistani filmmakers

If you’re a cinephile, this segment is going to be a treat for you.

Every year, the competition announces a unique theme. This year’s theme was celebrating Pakistan’s food, culture, song, dance and natural splendour. Not only will winning films from this year be screened, winners from the previous four years will also be playing on loop, waiting for you to catch a glimpse of them.

The films cover topics such as the diversity in Pakistan, our unsungheroes, how Pakistan coped with the challenges of the pandemic and our unique culture.

So come and support your local filmmakers and consume some great works of art that are both relevant to your experience and identity!

Panel discussions with the greats, i.e. Sarmad Khoosat and Haya Fatima Iqbal

If you’re an aspiring filmmaker or even just a filmmaker who wants to learn more, this one is for you.

The event includes panel discussions with some of Pakistan’s most well-known filmmakers. CEO of Khoosat Films, Sarmad Khoosat, known for Kamli, Zindagi Tamasha and Manto and Academy and two-time Emmy winning documentary filmmaker Haya Fatima Iqbal will be part of this segment.

The two panels are “Who gets to tell our stories?” and “Films you can(t) make, topics you should(nt) explore”. Hear from the experts about how to navigate the media industry to voice your story as truthfully as you wish to.

Patangeer will be there to talk to you about content creation

If you’re interested in content creation or just a Patangeer fan, this talk might be very fun for you.

Digital creators Amtul Baweja and Fahad Tariq Khan have a large following of 80,000 people on Instagram where they produce their travel content and funny reels, among other things. You may not know their names but you are sure to have heard of Patangeer. Attend their talk on content creation, A new era of filmmaking, and understand how it works.

Khumariyaan will be setting the mood

Pashto music band Khumariyaan will be performing live at the event, painting the night with shades of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Karachi. The popular quartet comprising of young artists Farhan Borga, Sparlai, Rawail, Amer Shafiq and Shiraz have represented Pakistan in the US, UK, Europe and Gulf States. The band enjoys a large fan following overseas owing to its innovative style and unique way of expression.

Not only that, there will be other live performances by the Baluch Twins and by Ghulam Hussain who was part of Panchi, a shortlisted entry from the previous years. Hussain is going to perform a peacock dance that’s sure to wow you. Here’s video evidence to back up this claim.

There will be yummy treats to fuel up on

If you’re impressed by nothing else — which is very unlikely — there’s always food. There will be burgers, baos, chaat, dessert and coffee. The food on offer include sBasic, The Kitchen Table and Mulberry.

Passes for the film festival are available only on Ticketwala. We highly recommend you book yours fast. Don’t miss out on this really cool event because It Happens Only in Pakistan — and once a year at that!