Sarmad Khoosat’s Lali to Screen at UK’s Biggest Film Event, The BFI London Film Festival
In yet another proud moment for Pakistani cinema, Sarmad Khoosat’s Lali has been selected to show at the 70th BFI London Film Festival — the United Kingdom’s biggest film event.
The annual film festival, which runs for two weeks in October, unveiled its line-up on Wednesday. It will showcase 251 features, shorts, series and immersive works from 88 countries, opening with Elsinore, starring Andrew Scott, and closing with The Debut, starring Jesse Eisenberg.
Khoosat announced the news in an Instagram post, where he shared images from the event where the full festival program was revealed.
“To be in this line-up, and to get to bring all the madness, music, color, love and the many other crazy things of Lali to a global audience at the London Film Festival. Well, that feels rather lovely,” he wrote.
“And to be there on Day One of the festival too — somehow, that just makes it all feel a little more special,” he added.
Lali is set to be screened on Oct 7.
This is yet another feather in Khoosat’s cap. He co-wrote the movie with Sundus Hashmi and Lali made history in February by becoming the first fully Pakistani-produced feature movie to premiere at the Berlinale.
The film revolves around Zeba (played by Mamya Shajaffar), a young woman who gets labelled as a “cursed bride” after three of her previous suitors die under mysterious circumstances.
Lali “examines the fear, shame, and violence that lie beneath intimate relationships,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “With a keen eye for human complexity, it seeks to confront and release the suppressed forces that continue to suffocate many unions.”
In addition to Shajaffar, Lali boasts an ensemble cast, featuring Joyland ’s Rasti Farooq and Churail s star Meher Bano . The film’s score has been composed by Abdullah Siddiqui .
This isn’t the first time one of Khoosat’s movies has made it to the international stage. Zindagi Tamasha , which he directed in 2019, was selected as Pakistan’s entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. Joyland, which he produced in 2022, won the Jury Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. It was also selected as Pakistan’s entry for the international film category at the 95th Academy Awards. - Images
