Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Friday inaugurated the '10th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF)' here on Friday. The Oxford University Press (OUP) has been hosting the three-day event at a hotel every year since 2010. Sindh Governor said at the inaugural ceremony that Karachi Literature Festival is a platform where writers, poets, artists, actors and all those who are interested in literary activities, cultural developments and creative expression, meet and mingle.
He said the KLF is a colourful and constructive addition to Karachi's annual literary and cultural calendar and depicts how lively and energetic the people of this city are. In his welcome address, OUP Managing Director Arshad Saeed Husain said that they seek to explore new directions, emerging trends and examine the impact of social media and technology on literature, books, publishing, reading, and thinking at the 10th KLF.
"By understanding the changing times and changing opinions, KLF will help our relatively younger Pakistanis to grasp the concepts of tomorrow. Thus, KLF has become, not just a Festival, but a social movement, inspiring our youth and the literati to carry its light into the future," he said, adding that it was the goal of the KLF this year.
The Karachi Literature Festival will continue on Saturday and Sunday. It will feature more than 200 speakers (including 15 international speakers). There will be 80 sessions on different subjects during the three days of the festival. More than 30 books will also be launched.
The short film Rani and the documentary Indus Blues will be premiered at the KLF.
On the first day of the KLF, Infaq Foundation announced the Best Urdu Literature Prize which was given to Rooh e Qadeem ki Qasam by Sabir Zafar (Published by Rang Adab Publications).
In the Main Garden, keynote speeches were delivered by Zehra Nigah and Muneeza Shamsie and a documentary titled 'KLF Recollections' was shown. This was followed by a dance performance by Sheema Kirmani on Fehmida Riaz's poem "Aao Humwatno Raqs Karo."
There was a panel discussion on 'Pakistani Cinema - Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," attended by well-known film personalities Fahad Mustafa, Mehwish Hayat, Yasir Hussain, Munawar Saeed, Nabeel Qureshi and Asif Raza Mir. The moderator was Ahmed Shah.
A documentary titled 'Qalandar Code - Rise of the Divine Feminine' was screened followed by a discussion with Atiya Khan, David C. Heath, Syed Mehdi Raza and Shah Subzwari in Jasmine Hall of the hotel. The moderator was Arieb Azhar.
The Room 007 was the venue of English poetry reading called 'Voices from Far and Near.' Adrian Husain, Arfa Ezazi, Athar Tahir, Farida Faizullah, Harris Khalique, Ilona Yusuf, Jaffar Khan, Mehvash Amin, Moeen Faruqi and Shireen Haroun were the participants and the session was moderated by Salman Tarek Kureshi.
There was a book discussion - 'The Begum: A Portrait of Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan' by Deepa Agarwal and Tahmina Aziz in the Princess Hall. It featured Akbar Liaquat Ali Khan, Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Jr and Javed Aly Khan and was moderated by Muneeza Shamsie. The first day of the festival was concluded with Thespianz Theatre string puppets performance titled 'Safar-E-Pakistan: a Travelogue.'
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