25 short films screened on second day of Asia Peace Film festival
ISLAMABAD: As many as 25 short films and documentaries were screened on the second day of the first Asia Film Festival on Tuesday being organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
The films from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, India, Turkey, Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal, China and Philippines mostly focused on the violation of human rights, poverty and conflicts. The excellent cinematography, content and themes attracted a large crowd.
The key panel discussion was also themed on the human rights and the role of United Nations. The panellists included the EU Ambassador Mr Jean-Fran‡ois Cautain, development expert Christine, and two young filmmakers Kulsoom Fatima from Pakistan and Sahraa Karimi from Afghanistan.
The EU Ambassador Mr Jean-Fran‡ois Cautain was the view that the political vested interests have widened the conflicts which are causing the immense violation of human rights.
The EU countries play their role in reducing the conflicts and educating the people around the world. The cinema not only can help in highlighting the issues but also play its role in educating people because the scope of the cinema is comparatively wide than TV.
Ms Christine said the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) was the first legal document protecting universal human rights. It provides comprehensive charter of human rights and value that every person need to observe and every government shall ensure for their people. Different agencies of the UN are mandated to provide support to the nations to ensure the basic services and goods to their people.
Sahraa Karimi said Pakistan and Afghanistan have almost the same stories of people. We have been living in gloomy state of affairs for long. Film-making for the women is not easy, however, they can reflect the miseries and stories of women more diligently.
Kulsoom Fatima said joint international workshops give diversity of content and vision-sharing that improves the quality standards of the documentaries. We always learn new ways and techniques for reflecting the difficult subjects and themes. – APP
Story first published: 19th September 2017
Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2017/09/25-short-films-screened-second-day-asia-peace-film-festival/