The Curfew, a Pakistani short film, will make its world premiere at the Venice Biennale tomorrow (September 4), serving as the festival’s only Pakistani selection this year.
The Venice Biennale, also known as the Venice Film Festival, runs from August 27 to September 6. It is regarded as one of the ‘big three’ film festivals, alongside Cannes and Berlin. In 2019, Pakistan made a splash when Saim Sadiq’s film Darling won the biennale’s Best Short Film Award.
Shehrezad Maher wrote and directed The Curfew, a 19-minute film. Its cast includes Sathya Sridharan, Balinder Johal, Sara Haider, Rajesh Bose, Chris Thorn, and Salwa Khan.
The film tells the story of Ayaan, who becomes a temporary caregiver for his grandmother, and how they end up adrift in a language barrier. In the silence, spectres of a colonial past change how he perceives strangers and himself.
