Pakistan at the 69th Cannes Film Festival

It goes without saying that Cannes de Festival is one of the most prestigious annual film festivals in the world and perhaps the most glamorous too. As the cameras roll out for its 69th edition, starting Wednesday May 11, and Bollywood celebrities including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor gear up for the red carpet, Pakistan is also set to make its presence felt – which may be small but not insignificant.

For starters, filmmaker Jamil Dehlavi’s short film Blood Money will be screened at the Short Film Corner. The film is a thriller based on the real-life incident of American CIA agent Raymond Davis’ arrest in Karachi following the murder of a young Pakistani mugger and the subsequent two million dollars blood money that was involved in the process of his release from jail. Also being showcased at the Cannes Classics section is the 1959 AJ Kardar drama Jago Hua Savera (The Day Shall Dawn). Shot in Dhaka and a collaboration between the then East and West Pakistan, Jago Hua Savera was Pakistan’s first submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category to the Academy. The film, however, was not selected for nomination. While all of the film’s original negatives for the ’50s, the film was restored a while back through an extensive process of cleaning and modifying black and white prints from various rolls. The restored version was screened at the 2008 New York Film Festival as part of the film’s 50th anniversary celebrations.

Finally, Irish short film Tiger Tiger, scheduled to screen at the festival, also has a Pakistani connection. The film has been co-produced by filmmaker Nabhan Karim of Wormhole Productions and is a mystery drama that revolves around an unnamed protagonist who seeks help from his bartender friend to dispose off a body one odd night.

Here’s hoping that Pakistani representation continues to grow in the coming years.