Pakistan's First Digital Film Festival
A Cirque Films Initiative
A Cirque Films Initiative
3rd Edition 2022 | In Person
Venue Collaborator: NAPA
Gandhara Independent Film Festival (GIFF) is Pakistan’s first digital film festival founded in 2020 which has held successful digital festivals for three consecutive years. After the success of the 3rd Digital Edition held from 9th – 13th September 2022, GIFF collaborated with NAPA to screen 15 official selections of 3rd Edition in a two-day physical event at Zia Mohyeddin Theatre, NAPA including two films 'Murder Tongue' directed by Ali Sohail Jaura which was premiered for the first time in Pakistan along with the short documentary 'The Journey Within', a Coke Studio origin film by Mian Adnan Ahmad, with 13 other best short selections from Cannes, Sundance, Clermont, Busan, Sydney etc.
The first day started with the screening of an Australian short film 'Spider' which has been previously screened at Sundance, followed by 'Bear' from Australia, previously selected by Festival De Cannes including films like ‘The Silent Echo’, ‘The Journey Within’, ‘The Letter Room’, previously selected by Tribeca followed by Deaf’ and ‘Roberto’ an animated short film from Spain. Panel discussions were also held which were hosted by NAPA and major sessions included ”Restructuring Pakistani Film Industry” with the industry professionals namely, Khaled Anam, Faris Khalid, Omair Alvi, Ehteshamuddin and Sabiha Sumar. NAPA also hosted a 45 minute session with their Alumni discussing Contemporary Films, art and craft. The first day amazingly with a positive note where a huge number of people showed immense interest in watching films curated by GIFF.
The second day of the festival started off with filmmaking workshop followed by film screenings of ‘The Hunt’ from Colombia, ‘Radio’ from India, ‘Haru's New Year’ from Canada, 'August Sky’ from Brazil, previously a selection of Festival De Cannes, ‘Trumpets in the Sky’ from Palestine, previously selected by Toronto International Film Festival, ‘'The Headhunter's Daughter' from Philippines, previously selected by Sundance 2022, 'Monsters’ from Canada. The event ended with the Pakistan Premiere of the Internationally acclaimed short film “Murder Tongue” by Ali Sohail Jaura followed by a Q&A session with the cast and crew of the film. Murder Tongue has been screened at several international film festivals across the world and has won several accolades. The film has also been screened at multiple Oscar-qualifying film festivals.
The second day of the festival started off with filmmaking workshop followed by film screenings of ‘The Hunt’ from Colombia, ‘Radio’ from India, ‘Haru's New Year’ from Canada, 'August Sky’ from Brazil, previously a selection of Festival De Cannes, ‘Trumpets in the Sky’ from Palestine, previously selected by Toronto International Film Festival, ‘'The Headhunter's Daughter' from Philippines, previously selected by Sundance 2022, 'Monsters’ from Canada. The event ended with the Pakistan Premiere of the Internationally acclaimed short film “Murder Tongue” by Ali Sohail Jaura followed by a Q&A session with the cast and crew of the film. Murder Tongue has been screened at several international film festivals across the world and has won several accolades. The film has also been screened at multiple Oscar-qualifying film festivals.
Official Selection
Q&A Session with Team Murder Tongue hosted by GIFF
Moderated by Uzair Surhio & Kulsoom Aftab
Panel Discussion - Journalist Omair Alavi leads a panel of leading film and TV personalities comprising Sabiha Sumar, Khalid Anum, Faris Khalid and Ehtshamuddun discussing restructuring of Pakistani film industry.
Discussion on the Independent Cinema and the Role of Film Festivals. The discussion will explore the world of independent filmmaking having its own challenges and what role film festivals play in their triumphs.
Napa Graduates come together to discuss Contemporary Films of Pakistan
News & Media
The vision of the festival is to create a dynamic community for all young independent filmmakers in Pakistan and around the world to showcase the best of their stories.
