Pakistani music documentary film "Songs of the Sufi" has won the Best Documentary - Audience Choice Award at the 15th Chicago South Asian Film Festival held in Chicago from September 19-22, 2024. The feature documentary film produced by Kamran Anwar and directed by Shahrukh Waheed tells the story of classical qawwali through Qawwals of the Qawwal Bachay Gharana, aficionados, devotees, and music scholars. The film uses Sufi-inspired art by leading Pakistani artists and Mughal miniature paintings, qawwalis, interviews, and verité-style storytelling to create a cinematic musical visual experience.
“Songs of the Sufi is a wonderful craft that explores the history, culture, and universal message of Love. I’m very thrilled that the film won at our festival and stood out for masterful direction, and the emotional depth. Sharukh Waheed and Kamran Anwar have brought this masterpiece in a very tasteful and divine way to the big screen!” said Jigar Shah, Festival Director Chicago South Asian Film Festival.
The film had its Pakistani premiere at the Gandhara Independent Film Festival hosted by the National Academy of Performing Arts in Karachi, back in October 2023. The film was screened to a full house and received a Special Jury Award at the festival. The film went on to play at the DCSAFF in Washington DC, where it won best music documentary and received acclaim from critics and audiences alike. It was then screened at JIFF, Jaipur winning the Yellow Rose Award, and was runner-up for best documentary at the South Asian Film Festival of Montreal. It has been officially selected at 16 festivals, literary conferences, and academic institutions worldwide including Red Sea Film Festival Doc Days in Jeddah, NIFF Kathmandu, UPENN, USA, Max Planck Institute, Berlin, Kings College, London, and literary festivals in Sri Lanka, Lahore and Karachi.
The director of the film Shahrukh Waheed said, "It feels great that our film is getting appreciated by audiences at home and abroad. This is our ode to the art of Qawwali and the Qawwal families keeping this sacred art form alive and we want to share it with the world." The film's producer Kamran Anwar added "We are heartened at the responses and pleased that the film is resonating with juries and audiences far and wide. We thank the judges and the audiences who have recognized this film and hope that the core message of unity, tolerance, and inclusion that is embodied in the message of the great Sufis will continue to light the way.”
The film is continuing on the festival circuit, playing the Oscar-qualifying Tasveer Festival on October 15, 2024, and the Milton Keynes International Festival on September 28th, 2024, and will be at various universities in the USA and the United Kingdom in the coming months.