KARACHI:
The winners of much awaited short film competition “Heroes of Pakistan”
were announced in a humble ceremony held at the Karachi Press Club on
Monday to acknowledge the youths who have demonstrated their film making
potential by contesting in the competition organized by the American
companies Green Card Capital and SoundView Broadcasting.
While
addressing a press conference, Chief Operating Officer of Green Card
Capital Abbas Hashmi said that the project aims to provide the youth a
convenient and accessible platform to showcase their creativity and help
them discover their own hidden potential.
“We couldn’t
be more pleased with the public enthusiasm for our Heroes of Pakistan
film competition and the personal effort and sincerity that went into
the making of every entry.”
CEO Green Card Capital Abbas
Hashmi told that they had received an over-whelming response from all
over the country and received more than 150 entries submitted by the
youngsters, mostly students.
The winning documentary
films depicted the unique heroes from various walks of life including
social workers, teachers, and figures who played an extraordinary role
in defeating obstacles in life or to preserve Pakistan’s culture.
The
first prize of $1,000 was won by Danish Hashmi, producer of ‘Baadban’
while the second prize of $500 was fetched by Mohammad Ali Hakeem who
had produced ‘Guddu’.
Sana Nasir, the producer of ‘Life
in the Dark’, stood winner for the third prize of $250 while Umar Tariq
received the special peoples’ choice award for ‘The Philanthropist – A
kind-hearted soul’, documenting the renowned social worker Abdul Sattar
Edhi. He received the fourth and previously unannounced prize of $100.
Along
with receiving the cash prizes, the winners have also bagged
internships in TV production in Pakistan and USA while they will also
make television appearances on Pakistani channels in the USA distributed
by the SoundView Broadcasting.
The young achievers,
beaming on their success, said that it is a gratifying opportunity and
now their ambitions have soared even higher after receiving the
acknowledgement. Expressing the significance of such projects, they were
of the view that it is a crucial platform to showcase youth talent and
to experiment with fresh ideas.
The panel of the judges
included noted film and TV directors Mehreen Jabbar and Bilal Lashari,
producer and advertising maven Shahzad Nawaz, filmmakers Iram Parveen
Bilal, Mumtaz Hussain and Mathew Newton, ethnic marketing expert
Stephanie Herold, actor-writer Aizzah Fatima and digital media expert
Sarah Khan.
Vowing to continue this project in the coming
years, CEO Green Card Capital Abbas Hashmi told that the next programme
will be announced in August due to the encouraging feedback.
“It’s
our intention to make this a yearly event and to continue to provide a
forum for honouring heroic Pakistanis from every strata of society,”
Hashmi said.
“We are contacting several notable writers
and celebrities for the future projects, aiming to tap the youngsters
with potential,” he added.
It may be mentioned here that
the sponsors, Green Card Capital and SoundView Broadcasting, had invited
the aspiring filmmakers to participate in the competition by submitting
an original five-minute video clip and employing any medium to record
and produce the film. The choice of the heroes and film style were
entirely up to the entrants.
The contenders of the ‘Heroes
of Pakistan’ had one month deadline to submit their entries that
started from September 1, 2013 and expired on October 31, 2013.
SoundView
Broadcasting, the broadcaster and distributor of international TV
channels in USA, in collaboration with consulting and investment firm
Green Card Capital are determined to improve awareness about the
Pakistani cinema and arts among the American audience by offering
exposure and opportunities to aspiring filmmakers in Pakistan.
