Seemab Gul’s short film Sandstorm (Mulaqat) qualifies for Oscars

Pakistani short film, Sandstorm (Mulaqat) made its way through to the HollyShorts Film Festival 2022. The festival takes place in California, and Hollywood every year for independent short movies. To enter the Oscar race, one has to win awards at the festival.

Mulaqat was nominated along with two other movies at the festival, ‘The power of the Dog’ and Parallel Mothers’. The movie is produced by Gul and Abid Aziz Merchant with a partnership with Sanat Initiative and instinct production and is directed by Seemab Gul who is a British-Pakistani and an indie filmmaker. Her movie was ranked in the top three in the festival that took place on 11th August to 20th August. 

Mulaqat was shot in the time of Covid in Karachi, Pakistan. The lead roles are played by Parizae Fatima and hamza Mushtaq. The story portrays the major issue faced by girls in Pakistan which is blackmailing. the film revolves around a girl named ‘Zara’, who shares her video of her dancing with her boyfriend who later blackmails her. This film highlights how Zara will handle this issue in a Patriarchal society and free herself from all the struggles. 

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