WEB DESK
Pakistani-British independent filmmaker filmmaker Seemab Gul’s short film Sandstorm (Mulaqat) qualified for the Oscar award. Sandstorm ranked third position in the HollyShorts festival.
HollyShorts is an Oscar-qualifying, Los Angeles-based Film Festival devoted to showcasing the best short films from around the globe.
The top three films at the festival automatically qualifies for the Oscars. This year the festival ran from August 11 to August 20.
The other two films that qualified for the Oscars are The Power of the Dog and Parallel Mothers.
Sandstorm is written and directed by Seemab Gul. She along with Abid Aziz Merchant produced the film.
“Mulaqat, directed by Seemab Gul, won at two Academy Award qualifying festivals HollyShorts and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival in August 2022 which coincidentally is also the month we celebrate the 75th Independence Day of Pakistan,” said Abid Aziz Merchant on his Instagram post.
Mulaqat was shot in Karachi, Pakistan, during the pandemic with the collaboration of Sanat Initiative and Instinct Productions.
The film stars Hamza Mushtaq, Parizae Fatima, Ayesha Shoaib Ahmed, and Nabila Khan. The story revolves around a teenage girl Zara whose life becomes turbulent when she sends a sensual dance video to her online lover. He then blackmails her to meet him in person. “Will Zara cave into this stranger’s mounting demands, or will she set herself free?” the teaser said.
