Just when we were celebrating Sarmad Khoosat’s big win at the Busan International Film Festival, another Pakistani filmmaker has brought home an accolade from South Korea. A Pakistani-Canadian writer and director from Karachi, Hamza Bangash has won first prize for his debut feature film — Mariam — in the MPA-AFA category.
Mariam is a feature film-in development and Asian Film Academy (AFA) and Motion Picture Association (MPA) prize grants the first place winner a 5-day Immersion Program trip to Los Angeles, USA where Hamza will pitch his film to US-based producers.
Hamza shared the news on Instagram. “We WON! I still can’t believe this happened. My feature film debut project, Mariam, has picked up the First Prize, MPA-AFA award at BIFF,” he wrote.
Read: Sarmad Khoosat’s Zindagi Tamasha lauded at Busan International Film Festival
He earlier announced that he is super excited to be a part of this year’s Asian Film Academy at the BIFF.
“Super excited to be a part of this years Asian Film Academy with the Busan Film Fest. The first time I applied for this was in 2017, and 2 years later it finally happened. Can’t wait for two weeks of learning, hanging and experiencing Korea for the first time,” he wrote.
The filmmaker also disclosed that after this win he is all set to take his film to Los Angeles. “Mariam, my feature film debut, is taking small steps into becoming a reality. Next up L.A. baby.”
This is the first time two Pakistani films have won at the fest simultaneously. Certainly a proud moment!
