At the Rafi Peer World Performing and Visual Arts Festival held recently in Lahore, I wandered rather accidentally into the makeshift screening room where the festival was showing a wonderful collection of international films ranging from 3 minutes to three hours in length.
Among the films advertised were Rafi Peer’s classic Neecha Nagar and Salmaan Peerzada’s award winning ZarGul. But what caught my attention was third generation filmmaker Mashal Peerzada’s debut short film In Limbo.

Her film, although a student project for the New York Film Academy (Peerzada’s recent alma mater), had a touching siMplicity to it. In Limbo is the story of a young couple recovering from the death of their child. It is only when they face their grief that they begin to rediscover one another. In their quest to rise above their desolation, above fear and anger, hurt and despair, their ultimate love brings them together and they atteMpt to remake their shattered lives. Peerzada’s style and subject matter is reminiscent of her earlier theatre productions. The idea she has of breaking the moulds of the existing film industry are true to her past convictions of broadening the artistic horizon in Pakistan.

I caught up with the charming young filmmaker at the festival to see what she might have in mind for the future.
Mp: I think now is a critical time in Pakistan’s artistic industry; we have already seen the beginning of a massive boom in both television and music. It’s only now that the existing film industry is caving in on itself that a new era of film in Pakistan can be born. There is a suprising amount of young filmmakers in Pakistan waiting for that opening. I always want my work to be something that opens or at least shows the possibility of new horizons and greater ideals. We live in a time where we as young people are searching for inspiration and are craving the opportunity to carve the face of our nation’s identity.

Sah: Is television an option for you?
Mp: I would like to stay with film, I feel it’s more critical.

Sah: And what are you working on at the moment?
Mp: I’m working on a screenplay I hope to shoot in Lahore this coming winter, a sort of low budget sleeper film. I can’t really go into more details at the moment.

Sah: What kind of films do you hope to make in the future?
Mp: I’ve always gravitated towards what I like to call ‘human tales’ – I like to deal with intimate relationships and situations. Emotionally driven stuff, exploring human relations and human nature.

Sah: The characters in In Limbo were very intense – was that deliberate or a happy accident?
Mp: Well, I always work with characters first. I like to create people, then throw them into a world and a situation. I love dialogue, I love words. I try always to portray strong, multi faceted women who are real.

Sah: You say you love dialogue and yet there was so little of it in your film…
Mp: I feel that the kind of grief the protagonists are experiencing is beyond words – they really have nothing left to say to one another. And their emotions are best conveyed through their wordless performances, which are extremely intense. Certain scenes were wordy, some were overwritten I felt, especially the one in which the man breaks down and voices his anguish. Maybe in the years to come, I’ll learn how to avoid that. But in this particular film, I felt this couple was beyond words. I was lucky – besides having a phenomenal crew, I had two terrific actors (Greg MacTavish & Brooke Lyons) who carried the material perfectly.

Sah: Were you worried people might get bored?
Mp: Terrified! I hoped and prayed like crazy that the film conveyed all I personally thought it did. I think that is the hardest thing to do – to talk without words and I think Greg and Brooke both did a fabulous job of that – their body language was incredibly eloquent.

Sah: Did you find directing for film different from directing for stage?
Mp: It’s a different world. But my most basic principle remains the same – my actors have to love the material and be totally devoted to it almost if not as much as I am.

Sah: So where is all this coming from?
Mp: The emotion of my writing I try to bring from real life experiences – kind of like method writing. The content varies depending on my interests at the time. As for coming into film, I’d have to say my parents had a lot to do with it. They are both incredibly creative and talented people and are very supportive. We’ve always been raised to fight for our dreams. That’s part of the reason I want to work in Pakistan.

Sah: Any last words?
Mp: I really truly hope people begin to see Pakistan not only as a country in need of its creative youth, but as a country and an industry full of hope and opportunity as I do.