ISLAMABAD: Two individuals discovered their true selves through a strange, even somewhat bizarre, relationship in the film Home is Here, screened at the Women International Film Festival (WIFF) Thursday night.

The movie follows Hannah, a young girl who lives with her mother and little brother in a high-rise apartment building and one day breaks into a modern village with just one resident – Max.

Hannah explores his seemingly austere house until Max begins to notice subtle changes every time he returns home from work. In the course of the roughly 75-minute film, Max communicates with Hannah, and the communication between the two leads them to realise that life is not about searching for a particular place or relationship.

When they eventually meet, they realise home can be found within oneself.

Directed by Teresa Kotyk, the film was screened as part of WIFF 2019, which opened at the Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) on March 4.

Films selected for the festival include entries from Sweden, Spain, Bulgaria and Italy.

In a message, European Union (EU) Ambassador Jean-Francois Cautain said that the EU was proud to support the festival, which encouraged a dialogue on self-empowerment, creativity and safe spaces for women. The Austrian embassy also praised the organisers’ efforts.

Sami Blood by Swedish filmmaker Amanda Kernell, which follows an indigenous Sami girl in 1930s Sweden as she is exposed to racism and has to break ties with her family to survive, will be screened today (Friday).

The best entries will be assessed by a jury tomorrow (Saturday).

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2019