The filmmakers behind the short film Darling — which recently won a prize at the Venice Film Festival — believe that there is a heightened interest in stories from Pakistan internationally. Yet most Pakistani productions rarely make it to the international festival circuit. Why?
Saim Sadiq did not think his short film Darling would get into the Venice Film Festival — considered one of the ‘big three’ festivals along with Cannes and Berlin. “You are wasting your money,” he told the film’s producer Mahak Jiwani when she was applying. As fate would have it, they got selected.
Cut to a week before the film’s screening: Saim did not know if he would be able to get into the Venice Film Festival, or rather into Italy at all. The young filmmaker’s visa had just been rejected and he was trying everything in his control to get another appointment with the Italian consulate in New York. Saim made it to the festival just in time and ended up being awarded the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film.