Pakistan film industry partners with China
A number of joint productions are being planned between the two countries
Lately, there has been a lot of talk in Pakistan on collaborating with its friendly neighbour China. Whereas the same was reiterated by a delegation of top movie producers and actors at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Film Festival in Qingdao earlier this year, and more recently when Ali Zafar screened his mega blockbuster Teefa In Trouble at the 5th Silk Road International Film Festival (SRIFF), held in Fuzhou, no concrete word on co-productions came out.
Enter Jamal Shah, the veteran artist with diverse experience as an actor, musician, painter, screenwriter and director.
Sources reveal that Shah, who is also heading the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA), has been working on three different films under his home banner, Hunerkada, which are Chinese collaborations. One of these, I Love China, is a Chinese production. Its entire technical and creative unit flew in from China to shoot the film in Islamabad and other locations.
The second project, titled Silk Road, is a collaborative venture with Xi’an University. It’s about a common man who embarks on a heroic journey on the historical trade route that connects the East with the West. A Chinese director and cinematographer recently finished filming in northern Pakistan.
Another joint production, The Cut, tells the story of a desolate film studio which is up for sale, and how a well-oiled, ageing Begum Sahiba attempts to save it. Scripted by Shah, the movie is a light comedy.
It may be mentioned here that Pakistan has never exhibited a feature filmin China on a commercial level. In early 1960s, Ashfaq Malik’s Baaghi had a premiere in China. Later, Mera Naam Hai Mohabbat (1975) was gifted by (the late) producer-director Shabab Kairanvi to a Chinese film distributor. There was a gap of many decades before 2017’s Chalay Thay Saath was released in Hong Kong but not mainland China.