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Pakistani film “Lamha” vies for spot at NY Film Festival
KARACHI, July 3: The entire cast and production team of Lamha, a Pakistani feature film, is excited about its chances of winning awards at the New York City International Film Festival (NYCIFF) where the movie will have its world premier this August.

“Some 3,000 films entered from which they narrowed the entries to a 100 films to be screened at the festival. But Lamha, besides being short listed, has also been entered in the competition making it eligible for the best producer, best director, best writer, best actor awards,” said Meher Jaffri, the film producer, and CEO of Bodhicitta Works, a relatively new production company, while speaking to Dawn on Tuesday.

Lamha has been publicised as Seedlings in English internationally.

NYCIFF is held annually at Times Square, New York, and runs in conjunction with the NYFilmMarket, the only film market in the US East Coast.

The producer is quite upbeat about the chances of the film after the response they got from the festival director Roberto Rizzo who wrote its press release himself with nice comments for the film. “Then this film is also the only thing coming from Pakistan at the festival. New York, anyway, is also a hub of filmmakers,” she said.

The film is scheduled to be released in Pakistan by late fall.

The story of Lamha revolves around three lives that are bound together by a devastating accident, in an intricately woven story of loss, forgiveness and redemption. The characters, played by Aamina Sheikh, Mohib Mirza and Gohar Rasheed, face the terrifying prospect of piecing together the semblance of normal life.

Aamina Sheikh’s breakthrough performance comes hot on the heels of her 2012 Lux Style Award Best Actress nomination, while this marks yet another accolade for Mohib Mirza after his win as the Best Supporting Actor at the International Filmmakers’ Festival 2009, at Kent, the UK.

Sharing their experience, Mohib Mirza and Aamina Sheikh said, “Working with Bodhicitta Works was tremendous. Their thorough and detailed pre-production process, dynamic and effective rehearsals, tight team-work, professional follow-up, cast and crew treatment, level of mutual respect and realistic scheduling was nothing short of impressive. The project getting international recognition at the NYCIFF is surely a reflection of such unwavering commitment and dedication of all those who literally ‘lived every moment of Lamha’. We feel that this is just the start of making a difference and creating opportunities. Its fruit belongs to the risk takers who stood for it while others weighed and waited.”

The story of the film has been penned by Summer Nicks “also a producer and my partner in our production company”. Asked if it is just a simple story or does it also involve the politics or social problems of Pakistan, the producer said, “Well, it is a story based in Pakistan, but it is just a human interest drama and doesn’t carry any political or social agenda, although our second project Kolachi, the highly anticipated sci-fi feature still in pre-production stage, is more current affairs. Another short musical film Ruckus featuring Usman Riaz premiered in Karachi with his debut album launch on June 15.”

Lamha has been directed by debutant director Mansoor Mujahid.

The New York City International Film Festival takes place this year from Aug 9 to 16.

The music of Lamha is to be hailed as a piece of art in itself. Usman Riaz – the 21-year-old musical prodigy and 2012 TEDGlobal Fellow — has composed the musical score of the film that features vocals by Zoe Viccaji. The rest of the film comprises classic songs by the renowned Mehdi Hasan in a tribute to the late ghazal singer. “We have used original old songs of Mehdi Hasan,” said Ms Jaffri. Usman Riaz and Zoe Viccaji have also been nominated this year in their respective musical categories for Lux Style Awards.
http://dawn.com/2012/07/04/lamha-vies-for-awards-at-ny-festival/

This is another movie by Humayun Saeed titled "Main Hoon Shahid Afridi"
 
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For Ahsan Khan, Lollywood is love

LAHORE:
Actor Ahsan Khan, a rising star in the Pakistani drama and film industry, is not afraid of a challenge. After winning the PTV award for Best Male Actor, he is now on this year’s Lux Style Awards nomination list. “I always believe that my career should not be one of those that came and went. I want to leave a mark in Pakistan and be perfect at what I do,” Khan tells The Express Tribune.

“It’s pretty typical of young boys to always be casted in happy-go-lucky roles,” says Khan, talking about his inclination towards diversity. He added that while he has played the “nice guy” in drama serials like “Paani Jaisa Pyaar”, he has made sure to take on atypical roles, such as the one he played in “Dastaan” and “Paarsa”, where he played a young boy who is madly in love.
“If I ever had the chance to do something crazy and experimental, it would be amazing.

When you do different characters, it’s a whole different experience which shows your skills as an actor.”

Lollywood loyal

After all the doom and gloom that revolves around the local film industry, Khan is optimistic about Lollywood. He believes that the industry is filled with talent and has the potential to improve tenfold. While one may feel that Khan’s loyalties lie with Lollywood since that is where he made his debut, he says he has been a fan of Pakistani cinema since he was a little boy.

It is unfortunate that after films like Nikaah and Ghar Kab Aao Gay were platinum jubilee hits, Khan leapt to television plays since he felt his success would be limited with Pakistani cinema. “Television dramas have really provided a boost. We are coming out with very good plays and it’s connecting with an international audience,” he said, adding that “our acting, direction and scripts are improving.”

“In the middle, I had completely stopped films, but there is always that inkling that I wanted to go back, do some Lollywood because it feels nice even if it’s a low-budget production,” says Khan who recently signed up as a lead actor in Shahzad Rafique’s new movie Ishq Khuda which includes bonafide stars such as Shaan, Meera and Dubai-based popstar Wiam Dahmani.

Khan remains a vocal supporter of Pakistani cinema and hopes to change perceptions about Pakistani movies. “I don’t blame any actor who is taking on Punjabi films, because for an actor, it’s about surviving on some level,” says Khan.

“We have to realise a Punjabi film is a regional film, so it’s not supposed to compete with the international market, it caters to a different viewership.”

The future holds important projects for Khan, with offers to star in several Indian dramas and also international productions. He plans to be part of a film made by a New York based production house — a political thriller about the Taliban which will be shot mainly in the border areas of Pakistan. He is also in line to star in Sultanat which is being directed by Syed Faisal Bukhari.
At the end, Khan emphasises on the importance of diverse roles for actors. “New actors should take their trade seriously because there is no shortcut. In the long-run, one has to penetrate the hearts and minds of the viewers like the greatest actors of the industry once did,” said Khan.

For Ahsan Khan, Lollywood is love – The Express Tribune
 
Lamha to premier at NYC Fest 2012

KARACHI:
On July 3, Bodhicitta Works, in association with Ice Animations, announced that the world premier of Pakistani feature film Lamha will take place at the annual New York City International Film Festival (NYCIF), being held in Manhattan’s Time Square from August 9 to August 16. The Pakistani feature film, produced by Meher Jaffri and Summer Nicks, has been officially selected to screen in a competition taking place at the festival.

This year, the NYCIF committee received 2,500 film entries from across the globe, out of which 178 will be screened; only 20 of those films will take part in the competition. “The entire team is extremely thankful and excited about their chances,” said Jaffri.

Lamha (publicised as Seedlings in English internationally) is a Pakistani feature film starring Aamina Sheikh, Mohib Mirza and Gohar Rasheed. The film, which completed production in Karachi in June 2012, has been directed by newcomer Mansoor Mujahid and revolves around the lives of three individuals bound together by a devastating accident. An intricately woven story of loss, forgiveness and redemption, Lamha explores the terrifying prospects of piecing together a broken life.

“As French poet Lamartine wrote ‘There is one missing and the whole world is empty’: the movie is about how to overcome this emptiness,” said Festival Director of NYCIFF Roberto Rizzo about Lamha.

The music of the film, composed by musical prodigy Usman Riaz is said to be a work of art in itself. The 21-year old, fresh off the 2012 TEDGlobal Conference, composed the musical score of the film, featuring vocals by Zoe Viccaji. The rest of the film comprises of classic songs by the renowned Mehdi Hasan in tribute to the late ghazal singer. The young musicians working on this film, Usman Riaz and Zoe Viccaji, have both been nominated in the musical categories of the Lux Style Awards this year.
Lamha, which will have its world premiere at the NYCIF, is intended to release theatrically in Pakistan later this year.

Lamha to premier at NYC Fest 2012 – The Express Tribune
 
The movie Seedlings a.k.a Lamha has been nominated for "Best Picture", "Best Original Screenplay", "Best Director", "Best Actoress", "Best Actor","Best Supporting Actor" and "Best film score" at New York City International Film Festival.

It probably worth a watch after receiving so many nominations. The awards are going to be announced tomorrow.

There is a review article link below:
http://dawn.com/2012/08/14/aamina-sheikh-and-mohib-mirza-enthrall-audience-in-new-york/
 
why the hell these movies dont release.. just teasers and trailors and then thats it.. ?? i heard long time back that pakistan's first car racing movie "raftaar" was being made.. what happened to that?? & what happened to Kolachi...
 
why the hell these movies dont release.. just teasers and trailors and then thats it.. ?? i heard long time back that pakistan's first car racing movie "raftaar" was being made.. what happened to that?? & what happened to Kolachi...
really? thats amazing, this year, lots of movies were announced, Pakistan's first dance/war/science fiction/sports/politics/horror movies. I really like how every director is starting to think out side the box now, p.s, dont know what happened to these movies, so far only "mud house and the golden doll" and "seedlings" have been screened this year. i know that the director of kolachi and seedlings is the same so im guessing after he is done with seedlings, screening of kolachi will start
 

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