LAHORE: International actor and model Zoha Rahman has recently achieved a major milestone in her career as her short film Eid Mubarak has qualified for the prestigious Academy Awards.

The short film qualified after winning the Jury Award at The New York International Children’s Film Festival. The judges included Uma Thurman and Kyle Maclachlan among other high profile industry professionals.

The live-action short film is based on the real childhood experience of the writer and director Mahnoor Euceph. The team behind the film hopes to bring the universal Muslim experience of sacrifice for Eidul Azha into mainstream media to spread awareness and build bridges of understanding across cultures.

From colour to composition, every frame of Eid Mubarak is a testament to the creativity and hard work of the entire team, which includes American and Pakistani artisans. Shot in Karachi over the course of five 12-hour days in May 2022, the film was completed in the summer in Los Angles, California. It has since won multiple awards across film festivals in Seattle, Los Angeles and New York.

“We are thrilled that Eid Mubarak has qualified for the Oscars,” said Zoha Rahman. “Our goal was to create a film that would resonate with audiences around the world, and we are humbled by the recognition we have received. We hope that our film will help to promote greater understanding and empathy between cultures.”

Rahman is a British-Pakistani actress who is quickly rising to fame in the country. The budding star is known for her role as a ‘hijabi’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Spider-Man: Far From Home. She is currently starring in the Apple TV+ production Foundation and will soon also be seen in Kabir Khan’s next film ‘83’.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2023