The three Pakistani short films that will feature at this year’s Chicago South Asian Film Festival
The films Fankaar, Time After Time and Don't be late, Myra will be screened on September 18
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, director of Disney’s Ms Marvel, and winner of two Academy Awards for her work as a documentary filmmaker, has joined Pakistani-American filmmaker Afia Nathaniel’s hard-hitting short film Don’t Be Late, Myra as an executive producer, Variety reported on Monday.
The film follows 10-year old Myra (Innayah Umer) as she undertakes a treacherous journey home through the streets of Lahore. A survivor herself, Nathaniel confronts the taboo subject of child abuse head-on, with Myra encountering a cast of characters representing the many dangers posed to a little girl on the street.
The short stars Nida Ahsan as Myra’s bedridden mother, and Sumaira Saghir as her teacher. Mushtaq Ahmed, Munir Hussain, Shahid Riaz, Rizwan Riaz and Sohail Tariq play the many dangerous men she meets on her journey.
Don’t Be Late, Myra has had a particularly successful run at film festivals, winning awards at the Bergen International Film Festival in New Jersey, the Montreal International Film Festival, the Big Apple Film Festival in New York, the UK Asian Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival. This has earned it a spot in the race for an Academy Award, according to Variety.
“Myra’s story is both urgent and real,” Chinoy told Variety. “Don’t Be Late, Myra gives voice to the fears every young girl knows too well, while celebrating the courage it takes to survive and to be heard. To stand behind this film is not only a responsibility, but a joy. I am proud to join as executive producer and to help bring this vital story to the world.”
This isn’t Nathaniel’s first time at the Oscars either, her earlier film Dukhtar represented Pakistan at the 2015 Academy Awards. She went on to break barriers in the US as the first Pakistani-American woman to direct a US network drama when she worked on NBC Universal’s Chicago Med.