Sunday Matinées
Goethe-Institut Pakistan in collaboration with 64th Street Media, Documentary Association of Pakistan is pleased to present ‘Insha’Allah Democracy’, the latest documentary feature by award-winning director Mo Naqvi as part of the Sunday Matinees program!
In Insha'Allah Democracy, filmmaker Mohammed Naqvi chronicles his journey as a first-time voter in Pakistan. When Mo was 19, General Pervez Musharraf staged a coup d’etat that saw him in power until his exile in 2008. With the country growing increasingly unstable and sectarian, Mo backs Musharraf and his supposedly secular liberal platform. But as this wry satire explores, backing military dictatorship is never a good idea. Gaining remarkable access to former dictator Musharraf, the film questions if democracy is truly possible in Pakistan. Through moving first-person accounts and vivid footage, the film offers a compelling portrait of the contradictions and complexities of a nascent democratic process in a country recovering from a long history of military rule.
The film has shown at international film festivals including at Sheffield DOC:FEST where it was nominated for the Tim Hetherington Award, and the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival where it won the Courage in Filmmaking Award. It has also broadcast on Starz in the US, BBC in the UK, ZDF in Germany, and ARTE in France.
Director’s Bio: Mo’s documentary films have been called “explosive” and “chilling”, and are described as having “jaw-dropping” and “unprecedented” access to some of the most dangerous subjects. His most recent documentaries are Insha'Allah Democracy (STARZ, BBC), featuring fly-on-wall access to notorious military dictator General Pervez Musharraf, and Among the Believers (Netflix, PBS World) an up-close and personal chronicle of ISIS supporter & Taliban ally Abdul Aziz Ghazi.
Other documentary credits include Pakistan’s Hidden Shame (Channel 4 UK, ABC Australia), Shabeena’s Quest (Al-Jazeera World), Terror's Children (Discovery) and Shame (Paramount / Showtime) profiling sexual violence survivor and international human rights icon Mukhtaran Mai. In addition, Mo has produced fiction feature films including Big River and I Will Avenge You Iago, starring Giancarlo Esposito and Larry Pine. An alumnus of festivals including Sundance, Toronto, Tribeca, and Berlin, Mo is also the recipient of the Television Academy Honor, Amnesty International Human Rights Award, and a Grand Prix from the United Nations Association Festival. Mo has been nominated for an Emmy, an Independent Spirit Award, a Cinema Eye Honor, and the UNESCO-FELLINI Prize.
Sunday Matinee will start with some of the shorts from our project ‘Film Talents-Voices from Pakistan and Afghanistan’.
We will screen the following Pakistani short films produced as part of our Project 'Film Talents-Vocies from Pakistan & Afghanistan':
1. Ghungroo by Ali Rizvi
2. Holy Gutter by Samid Ali
These short films will be followed by the feature film 'InshaAllah Democracy'.
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