Here’s an encouraging bit of news: the first Lyari Festival Film Festival was organised in Karachi’s Rangoonwala Hall from Sept 17 to Sept 20. It was so heartening to see young filmmakers from Lyari showcasing their talent and exhibiting their consuming passion for the art of filmmaking. It’s a healthy trend which must be continued and if possible followed by others.

Lyari has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Kudos to the organisers (Nosach Films, Women Development Foundation and the Karachi Youth Initiative) for taking such a bold step. To boot, some of the films screened in the festival (Wheels, Chainak, Sheermal, Mithu Rickshaw Wala) were enough to suggest that the city’s young directors, especially Lyari’s, have loads of talent which just needs to be tapped into. Keep it up, guys!

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, September 28th, 2014