Good news for Pakistanis residing in Canada; at least your wait is over and you’ll finally get to see a Pakistani film. Veteran actor Sakina Samo’s directorial debut on big screen titled Intezaar (Waiting) is gearing up for its Canadian premiere at the upcoming Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) which will take place next month.
Intezaar was scheduled to release in cinemas across Pakistan in March 2020. However, in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, local cinemas were shut down and they have still not opened up properly. Fortunately, the film had its own fate and is now garnering acclaim in international film circuit.
Sakina Samo shared the news on her social media:
INTEZAAR is having its Canadian premiere at the MISAFF film festival. @mosaic_misaff
December 4-12, 2020 pic.twitter.com/UWuOrqXLMa— SakinaSamo (@SakinaSamo) November 21, 2020
The festival will commence from December 4th and will run till December 12th, 2020. Th festival will be a virtual event available to audiences in Canada and will feature South Asian fiction films, documentaries and shorts from around the world. The passes are on sale now!
The Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (@mosaic_misaff) has gone online! From Dec 4-12, catch South Asian fiction films, documentaries, and shorts from around the world. Early bird passes are on sale NOW!
Learn more below! ⬇️https://t.co/QD3Hl83Krk pic.twitter.com/IkOLOI86Gm
— Mississauga Arts Council (@MissArtsCouncil) November 23, 2020
It will be a virtual event available to audiences in Canada. It is going to be the eighth edition of Canada’s leading film festival. MISAFF 2020 will showcase fiction films, documentaries and shorts from around the world.
In September 2020, Intezaar premiered at the Harlem International Film Festival in New York. One of the actors from the cast, Khalid Ahmed, also won an award for Best Actor in the fest where the film was screened.
Read: Sakina Samo’s ‘Intezaar’ to premiere in New York
The rest of the cast includes Samina Ahmed, Kaif Ghaznavi, Adnan Jaffar, Raza Ali Abid amongst others. The film is written by Bee Gul, who is known for her dramas such as Dar Si Jati Hai Sila.
Intezaar is a film about a family’s patiently waiting for things to happen. A father waiting for his family to leave him, a mother waiting for her son to come home and a daughter taking care of her ageing parents, waiting for them to pass on. The loneliness, the indifference of children and the fear of death, ever approaching. However, under this gloom, they find reasons to live.
Sakina Samo was also recently awarded Pride of Performance for her contribution to the Pakistani entertainment industry.
