Zarrar Kahn | |
|---|---|
 Kahn in 2024 | |
| Born | 1991 |
| Education | Queen's University (BA) Canadian Film Centre (Director's Lab) |
| Occupations |
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Zarrar Kahn, also sometimes credited as Hamza Bangash, is a Pakistani Canadian film director and screenwriter, [1] whose feature film directorial debut In Flames premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, [2] and was Pakistan's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. [3]
Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, he spent part of his childhood there before emigrating with his family to Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. [2] He has continued to live and work in both countries, with most of his films being Pakistani-Canadian co-productions. [4]
His first short, Dia, won the Audience Award during the 2020 Locarno Film Festival. Stray Dogs Come Out at Night, his next short, was the first film from Pakistan to be selected at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. [5]
His films typically centre on characters who are struggling against their status as outsiders in Pakistan's conservative religious society, such as women, people with physical or intellectual disabilities, LGBT people or members of religious minority groups.
Kahn's feature film directorial debut, In Flames , premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, [2] and was Pakistan's official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards in 2024. [3]
In Flames was the winner of the John Dunning Best First Feature Award at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024. [6]
Tsai Ming-liang is a Malaysian filmmaker based in Taiwan. Tsai has written and directed 11 feature films, many short films, and television films. He is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese cinema. His films have been acclaimed worldwide and have won numerous awards at festivals. In 1994, Tsai won the Golden Lion at the 51st Venice International Film Festival for the film Vive L'Amour.
Farida Khanum is a Pakistani classical singer. She is also known by her honorific title Malika-e-Ghazal in both Pakistan and India and is widely regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the ghazal genre of singing. Khanum has been affectionately called Queen of Ghazal in Pakistan.
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Arnaud Desplechin is a French film director and screenwriter. In 2016, he won the César Award for Best Director for My Golden Days (2015). He has also written and directed the films The Sentinel (1992), My Sex Life... or How I Got into an Argument (1996), Esther Kahn (2000), Playing 'In the Company of Men' (2003), Kings and Queen (2004), A Christmas Tale (2008), Jimmy P: Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian (2013), Ismael's Ghosts (2017), Oh Mercy! (2019), Deception (2021), Brother and Sister (2022), and Filmlovers! (2024)
Matteo Garrone is an Italian filmmaker.
The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is an all-Canadian film festival held in Kingston, Ontario. Since 2001, a week-long festival has been held annually early winter, with the 2025 festival taking place from February 26th to March 2nd, 2025.
The Queer Palm is an independently sponsored prize for selected LGBT-relevant films entered into the Cannes Film Festival. The award was founded in 2010 by journalist Franck Finance-Madureira. It is sponsored by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau, filmmakers of Jeanne and the Perfect Guy, The Adventures of Felix, Crustacés et Coquillages, and L'Arbre et la forêt.
The Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is an international film festival dedicated to short films held annually in Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Monia Chokri is a Canadian actress and filmmaker.
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Fahad Sheikh is a Pakistani television actor, best known for his lead role as Ahmer in the ARY Digital television series Jalan. He was also seen in drama serial drama serial Azmaish and Dunk. Before Jalan he appeared in dramas such as Badbakht, Khudparast, and Bandish.
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Olla is a 2019 French short film written and directed by Ariane Labed, her directorial debut.
Amna Mawaz Khan is a Pakistani dancer, theatre artist, feminist and political worker. She is founding member of Women Democratic Front.
Eliane Umuhire is a French-Rwandan actress. Her artistic career explores themes of identity, memory and resilience. Her work has been featured in films presented at prestigious international festivals, where she has won awards for her acting and social commitment. Notably acclaimed for her role in the Polish film Birds Are Singing in Kigali by Krzystof Krauze & Joanna Kos, Eliane has been honored with Best Actress awards at festivals such as the Chicago International Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, the Gdynia Polish Fiction Festival, the Polish Festival in New York, the Let's CEE Festival in Vienna, as well as the Mastercard Rising Star award at the Netia Off Camera independent film festival.
Jawad Sharif is a Pakistani filmmaker, producer, and activist, who directed the documentary film Indus Blues (2018). The film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Guam International Film Festival in the United States. At the 11th Jaipur International Film Festival, it was declared the Best Documentary Feature and also bagged the award for Best Cinematography. He is also the producer, cinematographer, and editor of the award-winning documentary film K2 & the Invisible Footmen (2015). The film has won over 37 awards in several categories.
In Flames is a 2023 Pakistani-Canadian supernatural horror drama film written, directed and co-edited by Zarrar Kahn in his feature directorial debut. The film stars Ramesha Nawal, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi and Omar Javaid.
The Queen of My Dreams is a 2023 Pakistani Canadian comedy-drama film, written and directed by Fawzia Mirza in her feature directorial debut. The film is based on Mirza's theatrical stage play Me, My Mom & Sharmila, which in turn was based on her 2012 short film The Queen of My Dreams.The film stars Amrit Kaur as Azra, a Pakistani Canadian woman who has had a strained relationship with her parents since coming out as lesbian, who undergoes an emotional journey after the sudden unexpected death of her father Hassan.
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