KARACHI: A variety of short, documentary and feature films were screened on the second day of the first Lyari Film Festival in the Rangoonwala Hall on Thursday.

The day kicked off with a 45-minuite-long Balochi feature titled ‘Shamaath’. Given the length of the film, it would have been better had it been placed somewhere in the middle of the day because the films that followed it were of very short durations.

Directed by Wali Raees, ‘Shamaath’ tells the tale of an underprivileged but full of confidence young boy who fights against all odds, eventually achieving success.

The director took the well-known loud and gaudy route which reminded this writer of the ‘80s Pakistani cinema with melodramatic acting and the shoot-from-the-hip attitude of the characters. The protagonist, in his early teens perhaps, beats the pulp out of the ‘bad men’ and somehow never loses confidence in his ability to overcome all the obstacles that life throws in his way. That being said, the audience liked the movie.

The second film was S. Kumail Rizvi’s five-minute effort, ‘Dead End That Lives’. It’s a nicely shot film and very astutely edited. Its subject: Karachi’s volatile nature. But the narration at times sounded stilted which took the fun out of the whole idea. It somehow didn’t synch with the intelligent framing and editing.

Next up was a documentary titled ‘Need Fire Wings Towards New Light’. According to the programme brochure provided by the organisers, it’s directed by Adeel Wali but the end credits suggested it’s helmed by Shahab Baloch.

The film begins with a young man witnessing an act of targeted killing. It disturbs him and as he tries to find solace at the Quaid-i-Azam’s mausoleum, the spirit of the Quaid comes and urges him to do something before things go out of hand. Through a series of footage a gory picture is painted, ending in the young man’s resolve to take it upon himself to improve life in his city.

Ameer Zaidi’s short film ‘Ek Tha Mitthu’ may be praised for the young director’s fertile imagination as he loads his project with symbolism and occasional peppering of literary references. But his attempt looked more suited to a theatrical performance than celluloid. His use of light in particular is quite striking which will hold him in good stead in the future.

Some of the other films lined up for the day were: ‘Rahgeer’, ‘Disordered’, ‘Khalif’ and ‘Hope’.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2014