Pakistani filmmaker Umar Riaz’s film Koi Aashiq Kissi Mehboob Se / Some Lover To Some Beloved has been selected for screening at India’s prestigious Jaipur International Film Festival 2021. This is the only Pakistani film chosen for the on-line festival’s full-length feature category.
The film – a seven-year in the making documentary – is an unusually revealing portrayal of the lives and work of two Pakistani icons, Zia Mohyeddin, the actor-litterateur, and Faiz Ahmed Faiz, the poet. It is also a study of the ghazal genre of Urdu poetry. The three subjects – Faiz, Zia and ghazal – are presented as a triptych of broad, individual-yet-skilfully-interwoven canvases.
Umar Riaz is a Student Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. He graduated with a Master’s in Film at New York University’s famed Tisch School of the Arts, where he also received the prestigious Ang Lee Scholarship for "exceptionally talented graduate film students.” His award-winning works have previously been screened at film festivals internationally including Locarno, Raindance, Woodstock, Cinequest, Boston, HBO, BET's Urbanworld and PIFF. Umer Riaz was also the artistic consultant and additional editor to legendary director Terrence Malick for his films 'Knight of Cups' (2016) and 'Song to Song' (2017).
As per Pakistan time, the Jaipur International Film Festival 2021 will stream films online on Monday, January 18, from 9 am to 11:30 pm. To watch, go to www.plexigo.com, enter "Some Lover to Some Beloved" in the search box on the top, register (no fee), and view.