In the recent past, a number of films including Pinky Memsaab and Asim Abbasi’s Cake (among others) have been made digitally accessible to a wider audience through the streaming platform, Netflix.
Recently, another film has made it to the list and we are more than happy. Pakistani animated film, Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor, which released in cinemas nationwide last year (on February 2), is the first Pakistani animated film that is now available on Netflix. The director and writer of Allahyar and the Legend of Markhor announced the news on his social media account.
Written and directed by Uzair Zaheer Khan, the film features the voices of prominent artistes including singer-songwriter Ali Noor, Natasha Humera Ejaz, Hareem Farooq, Ali Rehman and director Azfar Jafri to name a few. The animated production follows the story of Allahyar, a young and curious boy who ends up dealing with difficult circumstances in the northern mountains of Pakistan. His friendship with Mehru, the markhor is among the film’s most enjoyable scenes. In a series of events, Allahyar tries to save Mehru from the hunters and is rewarded with the ability to speak to animals. The movie aims to highlight themes of preservation and respect for wildlife.
Last year, the animated film won the Prestigious Monolith Award for content at the Infinity Film Festival, held at Beverly Hills, California. Apart from this, it was screened at the15th Annual South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) and also bagged an award for Best Feature Film in the Audience Choice category.
