By Nueplex Film Festival (NFF) 2024: The three-day festival from January 12 to 14 features 19 short films by emerging directors who want to “create cinematic magic despite limited experience and resources.”
According to the festival’s organizers, the three-day Nueplex Film Festival (NFF) is a celebration of young, independent filmmakers who, in spite of their lack of finances and experience, are striving to create cinematic magic.
Nine films were screened on the first day of the festival: Sentinal Jet, Haibat, Ticket to Paradise, Barzakh, Discarded, Circus, Cardiac Arrest, and Reverie.
The event was created by businesswoman Tooba J Baig, who is both the festival’s project director and an aspiring filmmaker. The festival’s organizers claim that their objective is to close the gap that exists between undiscovered talent and the Pakistani film industry. The majority of the featured filmmakers are university-enrolled film and media students in their twenties.
The organizers stated that because of a shortage of opportunity, these directors often remain unrecognized as they attempt to get into the Pakistani film business. They continued, “We are providing aspiring filmmakers with the chance to network with experienced members of our film fraternity through this festival.”
The first two days of the festival were scheduled to include the screening of 19 short films, each lasting between 7 and 27 minutes. A jury comprising of filmmaker Nadeem Baig, actor Humayun Saeed, writer Zanjabeel Asim Shah, writer Bee Gul, and director Sirajul Haq will evaluate these films.
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On the first day of the festival, nine short films were screened. The first movie was called Discarded. Rohail Ahmed directed a psychological thriller. The eccentric person’s life was the focus of the short film.
The second movie was called Circus. Under the direction of Mohsin Tariq, the story followed the life of a roadside mascot costume maker who hoped that when the circus came to his city, his boring existence would change.
Ammar Raza directed an action-sci-fi film titled Cardiac Arrest, the third feature film. The movie followed the tale of a retired agent plagued by his past who, after a new world order is implemented, is forced to go on one more mission to save the world from a fatal virus. Barakh, the festival’s fourth production, was a psychological drama directed by Hassan Ibrahim. It told the story of Abdullah and Khudabaksh, two individuals who face their own mortality and form a link of understanding and support as they set off on a tragic trip filled with pain, guilt, and the unknown.
Shikray Ka Gudda was the name of the fifth film. Subtain Abbas directed this fantasy drama. Seven-year-old Ali attempts to investigate his own, falsely-based truth in the film. Sharmeen Ali’s surreal film Reverie was the sixth feature film. In it, a woman goes back to her childhood home, where she must face long-buried memories and a strong denial before finding acceptance in an unexpected location.
Owais Hameed directed a drama film called Ticket to Paradise, which was the seventh film. In the film, a member of the Bengali community in Karachi seeks to grant his parents’ lifetime yearning for Umrah, but things do not work out as planned.
Haibat was the eighth film, a drama directed by Ashar Khalid. The movie was based on the life of Ayesha, who abruptly transforms a pleasant occasion into an awkward one.
Sentinal Jet, a sci-fi film directed by Zain Ali Qazi, was the ninth and last film of the day. In the android-ruled future shown in the film, Silas Jet sets out to discover the truth about his lover’s past.
Regarding the films screened on the opening day, director Siraj ul Haq mentioned that a diverse range of genres were screened for them. But for him, watching science fiction, or sci-fi, movies directed by Pakistanis was the high point of the day.
He stated that, the science fiction genre attracted my attention the most because it is predominantly produced in the West. They screened two extremely different science fiction movies. This is an exciting time for our filmmakers: we are now producing content in this genre globally, and some of our stories can be released there due to its sizable market. Nine awards in the categories of best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best screenplay, best sound design, best cinematography, best editing, and best production design will be given out by the jury on the third and final day of the festival. According to the event’s organizers, the three days will delve into a variety of uncharted cinema genres and offer growing female directors a platform to exhibit their work in a predominantly male industry.
