Love Letters From Pakistan

In 2021 the Pakistan Government launched the National Amateur Short Film Festival to find their best emerging film makers and offer them a scholarship to study abroad, enhancing their knowledge and skills to bring back new ideas and ignite Pakistan’s film industry.

The NASFF received more than 1100 entries from 72 universities across the country and while the students may have entered not knowing what to expect it was certainly an opportunity to be part of something special, possibly even transformational.

Ultimately 14 students were chosen and a significant number of their winning films were documentaries, shining a light on a people and a country of which relatively little is known beyond their own borders and in doing so the students were able to share their culture with a wider world.

Other winners created their own fictional stories, embracing ideas and attitudes that reflected a new Pakistan, one that is emerging into a more mature and urbanised society thanks to a complex world that is increasingly knocking on the door of developing countries in the 21^st century.  

The film makers arrive at the festival getting attention in front of the cameras

Celebration

This week those winning films were presented as Love Letters From Pakistan to an enthusiastic Gold Coast audience over chai and sweets. At the conclusion of the screenings three of the film makers took to the stage to perform a hypnotic blend of traditional Pakistani music that had the audience on their feet in a rapturous, celebratory dance.

It was a celebration not only of the students’ culture, but just as importantly their personal achievements, as they near the end of a ten month scholarship at the New York Film Academy’s Australian campus on the Gold Coast – their prize as winners of the NASFF.  

A cultural celebration

Catherine Mullins, Dean of College at NYFA Australia was full of praise for the initiative in giving these young film makers this wonderful opportunity.

“For the Government of Pakistan it has been a huge financial commitment, an investment into their youth and film industry. It's no small feat to create a long-term vision to re-establish an industry by building up emerging young film makers through international education and choosing the Gold Coast to nurture this bold vision,” she proclaimed.

The winning students get a taste of Hollywood on the Gold Coast

Pioneers

Some of these students have never left their families before, let alone travelled abroad, so the impact of these scholarships and their capacity to broaden the scope of these film maker’s visions can’t be underestimated. Catherine Mullins describes them as pioneers, and in many ways they are, for they will return home emboldened by new ideas and a greater understanding of the possibilities and their potential as film makers.

For the Pakistan Government it’s an investment into an exciting future and those who will help to shape the cultural identity of their country. It’s also the first step towards creating a foundation, with a new batch of NASFF winners arriving on the Gold Coast in June to commence their journey.