Sarmad Khoosat’s directorial, Zindagi Tamsha, has won the Kim Ji Seok Award at Busan International Film Festival. Showcasing the bleak reality of Pakistan’s society, Zindagi Tamasha had its world premiere a week ago (October 6) in South Korea. Following the premiere, the film was nominated for the Kim Ji Seok Award, along with seven other Asian films.
Produced and directed by Sarmad, Zindagi Tamahsa –Â internationally known as Circle of Life -Â shares the award with Indian film, Market, directed by Pradip Kurbah.
The jury for the Kim Ji Seok award, named after the late BIFF executive programmer, Kim Ji Seok, was headed by Iranian filmmaker, Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Other members of the jury included Malaysian actor-director, Tan Chui Mui and Korean film critic, Moon Young.
Zindagi Tamasha stars Arif Hassan, Samiya Mumtaz, Ali Qureshi and Eman Suleman in pivotal roles. Sarmad also makes a cameo in the film, which is all set to release in Pakistan in January 2020.
Written by Nirmal Bano, the film has been the talk of the town ever since its trailer was released on September 29, last month.
Zindagi Tamsha revolves around naat khuan (reciter of poems) Mohammad Rahat Khwaja, who is ostracized by the community after an ‘objectionable’ video goes viral. Sadaf, Mohammad’s daughter, also severs ties with her father. The filmmaker describes it as “an intimate portrait of a family as well as a scorching political commentary on little gods on this earth, who police our private passions.â€
Zindagi Tamasha is scheduled for a January 2020 release, although no date has been confirmed yet.
