Pakistani short film 1978 to be screened at IFFSA Toronto

After the Palm Springs Short Fest in California, United States, last month, the Pakistani short film 1978 was screened at the London Indian Film Festival in Britain and the Tabor Film Festival in Croatia. It heads next to the International Film Festival of South Asia (IFFSA) in Toronto, Canada.

Continuing its festival journey, 1978 will also be screened at the festival in Verona, Italy, followed by the Jecheon International Music & Film Festival and the Cheongju International Short Film Festival, both in South Korea.

Directed by Hamza Bangash, the short film examines a turbulent time in Pakistan's history when a repressive military regime made moves for rapid Islamization of the country, altering the way of life of the people. The film examines the effects of the decision on minority communities through the life of a Christian rock musician.

Elated by the response the film has received so far, producer Abid Aziz Merchant, who spoke exclusively to Cinestaan.com, said, “The Pakistani flag has a white star and crescent on a dark green field with a vertical white stripe at the hoist which represents the minorities. This was [Pakistan's founder Mohammed Ali] Jinnah’s vision in 1947 who believed in equality for all citizens. 1978 is about that period in our history 'when the music died'!

“I and the whole team behind 1978 are extremely proud that the journey of our small film, which started from the Locarno Film Festival around this time last year, is continuing and reaching other parts of the world and that we all are living in much more tolerant times now.”

IFFSA Toronto is being held online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is slated to begin on 12 August and end on 22 August.