Dubai based film-makers make it to International Festivals

Dubai based film-makers ‘Kahani Baaz’ (Story-Tellers) has recently made the city proud by being featured in two international festivals with their short movie ‘Nazah’.

Nazah means the agony one faces before dying; the death throes. It is the state of mind that blurs the lines between dream and reality. It depicts the life of a mentally disturbed individual and his struggle with life and death. The movie’s ethos is quite grim and dark which takes the audience inside the mind of Yasir, who wants to take his own life. Sarah, his sister, tries to be a beacon of hope and reason in this abstract piece of cinema. The movie made it to the “Calcutta International Cult Film Festival” and the “AAB International Film Festival” earlier in the Summer (2018). The movie has been completely produced and shot in Dubai with the entire cast and crew being residents of the city.

Hammad Sheikh the director says, “Nazah has a special place, not only because it is my first short film at this level but also because I felt I was able to deliver a message along with the creative edge. With limited resources and a great cast, we have received an overwhelming response among certain film festivals and our peers.”

Arif Afzal the writer of the movie says, “It’s great to know that our film has been liked and appreciated so much and has been selected at International film festivals. It was a difficult story to tell and we needed a great team to achieve that. It wouldn’t have been possible without great actors like Asad and Hiba and a brilliant storyteller like Hammad.”

“We have a lot of talent in city which we live in”, says Asad Raza Khan, who is the actor in the film playing the part of Yasir. “There is a lot of work being done in small pockets which is of international standards. This movie is made purely by residents of the UAE most of whom have a separate day jobs. We need the institutions to come forward and actively support/promote such kind of work to put UAE on the map!”. Speaking about the movie he says “It is a very dark theme, the depiction of the feeling before death is not for the faint at heart. We decided to do this as there is a rise in the stories of depression, suicide, mental disorders that we hear every day. The movie is supposed to suffocate you by giving you a glimpse of their reality.” Asad has starred in international movies, theater and television.

Hiba Khan, who plays Sarah in the film (Yasir’s sister), and a local theater actress, enjoyed working with such a diverse cast and crew. “Although the theme of the movie is quite dark, yet on-set everybody made the experience an enjoyable one. At the end of the process we had all become like one family. Playing Sarah was very challenging even though it was a short movie. The shades that come out are unique and diverse which the audience will realize once they see the film.”

The movie will be released online on YouTube and the production house’s social media accounts on Friday 20th of July 2018 at 5 pm Dubai time.