The first edition of Indus Valley International Film Festival presents a line-up of films from all the South Asian countries and interaction with celebrities, award ceremony, masterclasses and more

Right from film screenings, workshops, masterclasses, interaction with celebrities, music concert to award ceremony, the first edition of Indus Valley International Film Festival (IVIFF) will be held online. Organised by SAFACH (South Asia Forum for Art and Creative Heritage), the unique aspect of this festival is being the South Asia’s first borderless digital film festival.

The festival presents a very impressive line-up of films from other South Asian countries such as Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India as well. The audience will get a rare opportunity to not only watch the films from the region but also interact with eminent directors and star cast.

It will open with Patakha and a remark by Vishal Bhardwaj. The closing remark will be by Nandita Das with her film Manto as the closing film. A film by Brahmanand Singh Jhalki will also be screened during the festival.

Harsh Narayan, founder and creative director of the festival, said, “We have a cultural and historical legacy. Cinema is the modern medium of expressing, continuously evolving our artistic traditions. South Asian art, music and folk traditions are interconnected, and they get evolved further through communicating with each other. So I believe a popular platform connecting cinema and art practitioners, production houses, studios and creative professionals will immensely benefit the creative economy of South Asia.”

Four films from Bangladesh will be part of the festival. Nolok, with interaction with Shakib Khan; Maya The Lost Mother, Qasida of Dhaka and a short film Mala Bhabi will be screened. Dying Candle, an internationally award-winning film from Nepal, along with interaction with its director Naresh Kumar KC and actor Srijana, will also be screened. Thanha Rathi Ranga from Sri Lanka, along with interaction with its director Nilendra Deshapriya will be another attraction for film enthusiasts.

Moor and Motorcycle Girl — the two internationally acclaimed and award-winning films from Pakistan,  directed by Jami and Adnan Sarwar respectively, will be showcased. A documentary, Pakistan’s Best Kept Secrets, directed by acclaimed theatre director of Ajoka Theatre of Lahore, Shahid Nadeem, will be screened as well. He is going to interact with the audience too.

Another key attractions of IVIFF are workshops and masterclasses by renowned names of the industry. Director, author and producer, Brahmanand S Singh will be conducting a workshop on Fiction and Documentary Filmmaking. Shahid Nadeem will be steering a masterclass on Theatre Direction and Acting, whereas Karachi-based Haider Ali’s masterclass will be on a modern evolving art form —  Truck Art.

(The festival will be held from August 1 till August 9.)