Risham Waseem, Festival Director at Vasakh, sums up the concept of the festival in the following words:
“We are trying to create free and safe spaces where people can be sensitised towards social issues and advocate for their rights. This festival allows us to directly interact with the youth and initiate a healthy debate on issues that directly affect us.”
The concept of free and safe spaces is increasingly a rare one in Pakistan, as society turns inexorably towards obscurantism and an increasingly violent form of intolerance. In such a context, Vasakh set out in 2008 to provide a platform to reach out to young people and engage with them on issues of human rights, equal citizenship, gender equality and religious tolerance. They chose as their medium one of the most powerful didactic and journalistic tools available to modern society: documentary films.
In total, 15 films were showcased over the course of the festival
The festival aims to provide space to younger documentary filmmakers to showcase their own work, as well as to interact with their counterparts from around the world. This year, the Interactive Resource Centre (IRC) and Maati TV, in collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy and the US Embassy, hosted the 10th edition of the Vasakh Documentary Film Festival on the 27th and 28th of April, 2017, at Ali Auditorium Lahore. The two-day festival put on display some 15 documentary short films, revolving around the broad themes of human rights and respect for cultural diversity from Pakistan, India, the U.S.A and Myanmar.
The Interactive Resource Centre (IRC) describes itself as a nonprofit organization which has been striving to build consciousness amongst the marginalised sections of society in Pakistan regarding their basic rights, with a focus on issues of social and economic justice, democracy, citizenship rights and gender equality. Formed in December 2000, IRC has sought to explore new avenues for community mobilisation and dialogue in order to assist people in their struggle to regain collective strength. In pursuit of such aims, their latest venture is Maati TV, a web-based interactive video site striving to create an alternative and democratic narrative in Pakistan through digital stories, films and social media advocacy. Evoking the Punjabi word for ‘earth’, Maati operates from Punjab and Sindh in Pakistan, and claims to have correspondents in some 20 districts of the country.
The Festival paid tribute to the sacrifices in the fight against terrorism from heroes who are not from a Muslim background - whose stories are sometimes overlooked in the mainstream
A series of films centred on the need for countering violent extremism were on display at the Vasakh Festival. These films have been developed by IRC in collaboration with the US embassy. The films, we are told, “highlight the unsung heroes of Pakistan that have dedicated their lives towards fighting extremism.” In this context, the opening film on the second day of the festival was ‘A tribute to Aitzaz Hassan’ - about the courageous young boy from Hangu who sacrificed his life by jumping in front of a suicide bomber. In doing so, Aitzaz saved his school and the lives of all his fellow students. The image of young AItzaz offering up his own life so selflessly, with a full understanding of the carnage that a successful suicide attack would inflict on his fellow pupils, became a very powerful one in Pakistan. And this was once again evident at the Vasakh Festival, from the fact that students in attendance appeared visibly affected by the story of young Aitzaz.
Through the content presented to the audiences, the Vasakh Festival also paid tribute to the sacrifices in the fight against terrorism from fighters who are not from a Muslim background - heroes whose stories are sometimes overlooked by the mainstream narrative.
Particularly intriguing was ‘The Last of The Wakhi Shepherdess’, which tells the story of a shepherdess in Gilgit-Baltistan who is trying to keep traditions alive but is doing so all by herself – having literally left her home in order to do so. The powerful film draws attention to the Wakhi people, a nomadic folk who originated in the historic Badakhshan region, and have made their home in the Pamirs, at what is described as the “roof of the world”.
Another film that resonated with the audience was ‘The Parsis of Lahore’, which focuses on the dwindling Parsi community.
The film ‘Akash’, was a tribute to the young volunteer security guard at the Catholic church at Youhanabad, who gave his life to prevent a suicide bomber from entering the church. His family was present at the screening and appeared moved by the well-deserved and not-nearly-enough recognition that their son thus received. Members of the audience thanked the family too.
Student films from the National College of Arts (NCA) as well as from international film schools such as the Yangon film School in Myanmar and the National Institute of Design at Ahmadabad, India, were also presented at the festival.
In all, to sum it up, it would be useful to conclude with the remarks of IRC Director Mohammad Waseem:
“Through showcasing these documentary films we want to change the perception people have about their own country. We have so many films that highlight the cultural diversity in Pakistan and we want to remind people that Pakistan has the potential to be inclusive and peaceful because of our rich background and cultural heritage.”
