Pakistan’s first film guild to be launched

Karachi, March 18, 2016:A history-making get-together took place here yesterday, with many of Pakistan’s film industry’s biggest names gathered together under one roof to discuss the idea and possibility of the formation of a guild or academy of films, as a way of safeguarding the rights of the members of the film fraternity and also to create a platform to appreciate the efforts of all stakeholders, be they technicians or artistes. The evening was hosted by CEO CinepaxHashimRazaand Chairman Eveready Group of Companies SatishAnand.

Present were industry greats such asMustafa Qureshi, HumayunSaeed, SajidHasan, JavedJabbar, Sultana Siddiqui, Bushra Ansari, SanyaSaeed, NabeelQureshi, Fizza Ali, JerjeesSeja, Ismail Jilani,NadeemMandviwala, Mr and MrsMoammerRana, ArshadMehmood, Sana, FouadHussain and Hassan from the advertising fraternity and many others.

CEO STARLINKS PR and Events Shanaz Ramziwelcomed the guests after which HashimRaza expanded on the reason for the get-together and emphasized the need for a guild for the film fraternity, so as to provide a formal platform for industry stakeholders. Razaexplained that the platform would endeavour to be inclusive and work towards the goal of safeguarding the rights of the film fraternity and creating activities which would provide mentoring, scholarships, medical insurance, and legislation for the industry.

SatishAnand chairman Everready Group of Companies shared his experiences with the rise and fall of Pakistani cinema and the parallels that are present in this recent resurgence of Pakistani films. He elaborated that the purpose of this guild would include copy-right protection, scripts registration, helping the people that keep the industry running, along with finding and mentoring new talentas well as the creation of a self-sustaining entity that would reward and recognise contributions to cinema.

Raza concluded the discussion by assuring everyone present that there would be tangible actions taken within the month based upon the feedback given by everyone. Several of the attendees like Mustafa Qureshi, MoamarRana, Bushra Ansari and Ismail Jilani appreciated the initiative and gave their valuable insights towards the formation of the guild and what is the best possible way of moving forward. Sultana Siddiqui mentioned that whenever she went abroad for the shooting of a film or a play and wished to take her own make-up artist, etc, she would be informed categorically by the industry guild there that she was obliged to hire their local talent, as per their industry laws, hence a similar platform was essential in Pakistan to protect the rights of the local artists and technicians as well.

The evening concluded with a sumptuous dinner and an Oscar-style selfie taken by many members of the august group present.