The Pakistani short film Sandstorm (Mulaqat) has been nominated for an Oscar. At HollyShorts, an Oscar-qualifying film festival, Seemab Gul’s short film Sandstorm (Mulaqat) was chosen as one of the top three films that won awards.
HollyShorts is an Oscar-qualifying film festival for short films. The three grand prize winners are automatically entered into the Oscar race. According to international media, the best short film at the festival was Hallelujah; the best live-action short was Sandstorm (Mulaqat), and the best animated short film was The Scale.
Mulaqat, directed by Seemab Gul, won at two Academy Award qualifying festivals, HollyShorts and Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival in August 2022, which coincidentally is also the month we celebrate Pakistan’s 75th Independence Day,” one of the film’s producers announced on Instagram.
The story of Zara, a teenage girl who shared a sensual dance video with her virtual boyfriend, who begins to blackmail her into meeting him in person, is told in the short film. Will Zara succumb to this stranger’s growing demands, or will she break free?
The short film stars Nabila Khan, Ayesha Shoaib Ahmed, Parizae Fatima, and Hamza Mushtaq. It was made by Seemab Gul and Abid Aziz Merchant with help from Sanat Initiative and Instinct Productions.
