Come Kara and the question that was on everyone`s mind this year was would it take place or not? Ultimately the 7th KaraFilm Festival 2009 titled Strangi Re did take place after a year`s gap, much to the delight of film buffs.

Despite a lot of initial setbacks — the main sponsors backed out and some of the Indian participants were reluctant to attend while others were not given a visa to travel to Pakistan due to the ongoing tensions after the Mumbai attacks — the festival did happen and was held from Feburary 4 to 15, 2009 at the Karachi Arts Council auditorium and a few selected screenings at Nishat Cinema.

At a press briefing given before the start of the festival, its director Hasan Zaidi had said “The 7th KaraFilm Festival is by far the biggest spectacle of films we have yet assembled and we hope you will appreciate the diversity of programming contained within it. Our goal was always to somehow compensate for the festival`s absence over the last two years. There are over 230 films in our full programme, including over 120 shorts films, over 60 documentaries and some 50 feature films. They cover some 44 countries from around the world — from Australia to Norway and from South Korea to Colombia. Many of these are award-winning films and most have never been seen within Pakistan, but all of them have something unique, thought-provoking and well-crafted about them to merit their selection in the festival. Nobody expects anyone to be able to watch all the films but we hope you will enjoy as many as you possibly can. And if even one of them lingers in your memory after the festival is over, we will feel our job has been accomplished.”

Giving a bird`s-eye view of this year`s festival, the dedicated team of Kara held the festival with the spirited slogan of Yes, We Can and they did! Putting their best foot forward despite the odds the festival ran quite smoothly for its 12-day period, with a few minor glitches here and there regarding the sound system at the venue. Another point that one noted was the somewhat thin attendance during the festival. Citing a reason, a local channel employee said that she opted out due to the security threat at crowded places. While such threats are very real these days, it must be added here that the organisers did give ample consideration to this fact.

Over the years the biggest attraction at Kara has been the presence of Indian celebrities, but some might disagree. The biggest surprise this year that put a big smile on the faces of the organisers as well as the festival goers was when two of its oldest supporters, Mahesh Bhatt and Nandita Das, flew all the way via Dubai to be a part of Kara`s concluding days. The icing on the cake was Nandita`s debut directorial venture, Firaaq, based on the Gujarat riots and which is yet to be released in India.

Satrangi Re drew to a close last Sunday on February 15, with an informal closing ceremony attended by celebrities, film-makers, foreign mission representatives and film aficionados where the jury awards were announced. The closing ceremony, scaled down in size from the 6th KaraFilm Festival because of a resource crunch, followed a boisterous last screening of the feel-good American film, Mamma Mia, based on the songs of the Swedish pop group Abba. The biggest crowd yet was seen clapping and singing and literally dancing to all the songs.

Hasan Zaidi in his closing remarks particularly thanked the Friends of Kara who stepped forward with monetary donation so that the 7th KaraFilm Festival could take place. He also thanked the CDGK and especially Karachi City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal for his support and facilitation, the Governor of Sindh Dr Ishratul Ebad, the Sindh Government and Ministry of Culture and the Sindh Police. He also announced that the Sindh Minister for Culture Ms Sassui Palijo had graciously announced a grant of Rs1 million for the KaraFilm Society to meet the costs of the festival this year.

At the closing, the organising committee comprising Hasan Zaidi, Maheen Zia, Tahera Hasan and Adnan Malik also paid tribute to the volunteers and staff who helped run the event as well as the sponsors and supporters whose belief in the festival helped make it possible. Certificates were also handed out to the projection staff.