KARACHI: Speakers at a programme on Sunday stressed the need for a film policy to enable filmmaking students to produce movies that can be shown without the fear of censorship.

A panel discussion — ‘Censorship and Creativity’ — was organised at the National Academy of Performing Arts at its Zia Mohyeddin Theater on the final day of the three-day Gandhara Independent Film Festival 2023. The discussion was conducted by journalist Omair Alvi.

Speaking at the panel discussion, former member of the Film Censor Board and filmmaker Saeed Rizvi said since there were only a handful of screens in our country, it had become very difficult to make films. He said the laws of censorship were not rigid; it is the members of the board who were harsh in their interpretation of these laws.

Filmmaker and distributor Satish Anand pointed out that 1979 was the year when censorship became very cruel.

Panel discussion at Napa calls for allaying fear of censorship among filmmaking students

He said that former military dictator Zia ul-Haq’s times were the most horrifying for people like him. He said Pakistani society should move on with the ground realities of filmmaking.

In 1947, Karachi had 87 cinemas, but today, entertainment is available only for a limited number of people in this city, which has become very big in comparison, he said.

Napa official Kulsoom Aftab, who is also a playwright, director, and actress, said there should be a discussion on what should be declared obscene, since a lot of the times, censor authorities themselves need a clear understanding of issues.

Later, the festival had the premiere screening of The Songs of the Sufi, a musical documentary on the history and culture of qawwali in South Asia. The film is produced by UK-based filmmaker Kamran Anwar and directed by Shahrukh Waheed. It followed by a question and answer session.

A qawwali night featuring Najmuddin-Saifuddin Qawwal was the highlight of the event. The renowned group entertained audience with their qawwalis.

The three-day festival showcased over a dozen films from across the globe, including Pakistan.

Napa CEO Junaid Zubairi had said that by organising and promoting events like the Gandhara Independent Film Festival, Napa provided its students with a platform to explore the world of cinema. “Napa believes in the power of interdisciplinary arts education, and film festivals like this one serve as a bridge that connects various forms of artistic impression,” he had said.

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2023