Unfortunately banned and censored in Pakistan, Sarmad Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha is making headlines everywhere.
Zindagi Tamasha wins the Snow Leopard Award for Best Film at the 6th Asian World Film Festival (AWFF) held on March 15.
Lead actor Arif Hassan won the Snow Leopard Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film.
Director Sarmad Sultan Khoosat received the award from Jury member Luba Balagova Kandoor, while Jury member Joanne Goh presented the award to Hassan.
According to the press release:
Almost 40 films from over 20 participating countries were presented during the six-day Festival that included 11 Oscar submissions for Best International Feature Film and 12 Golden Globe submissions for Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language.
While accepting the award, Hassan said:
I am overwhelmed by the recognition this film of ours has received internationally.
Moreover, he said:
I am extremely grateful to our director Sarmad Khoosat whose dedication to the film was unparalleled. It’s about time we start telling stories that are unique to the Asian culture. There are so many stories that remain untold by the mainstream media.
Filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat upon winning the award:
Winning two awards at the festival has given me and my team the right kind of morale boost and the emotional boost as well.
He concluded:
It has been a tumultuous journey with this film. Not being able to show it here in my own home country, it got banned. But finding this new audience for the film has made me believe more and more in the power of cinema.
For more details, stay tuned with us.
