by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent
After Brad Pitt stole the show Saturday night at Palm Springs International Film Festival with his “oh-yellow-oh” David Oyelowo name-rhyme edutainment for SELMA, directed by Ava DuVernay - on which Pitt is a producer - the sparkly desert town still had the rush of afterglow on Monday. But, this is an important international film festival, so everyone regained their composure fairly quickly, despite his star showing, also Reese Witherspoon (Wild) and the battle of the British biopic-ers, Benedict Cumberbatch (Turing) and Eddie Redmayne (Hawking).
And that brings us to Dukhtar, a 10-year-in-the-making film from Pakistan, directed by Afia Nathaniel. Despite NOT being shortlisted by the Oscars for Best Foreign Language, this movie had a huge impact at its screening last night, and more than deserves an Oscar-buzz style push to find a distributor.
So what is it about? Well, child marriage. No, actually the issue of child marriage is just one component of Dukhtar. When the credits open, the word Dukhtar transmogrifies into the word, in English, “daughter.”
And that visual elegance underscores the story that unspools as a mother escapes an arranged marriage for her 10-year-old daughter as they attempt to vanish in a world so small, even the scenic terrain, in a power struggle between two warlords, seems to be in on the hunt to find them.
It is a tough year in the Oscar Foreign Language category, true, in the tidal wake of Russia’s Leviathan. But. That does not mean there is not a massive worldwide audience who would want to see this picture. After all, every woman, girl, and mother is a daughter.
Here’s Director Afia Nathaniel in her own words, from the Director’s Q & A after the applause died down in this packed screening:
AFIA NATHANIEL: “If you took one scene from Edge of Tomorrow (Tom Cruise) that was the budget of this film.”
“Two female protagonists was very hard (to sell) two women in the lead. Nobody believed in that.”
“People are used to the ‘hip shake’ movies (from Pakistan) whatever. In this, there are not the big dance moves. (These are) new kinds of stories. New kinds of movies. A film is also about the conscience of a country.”
“We couldn't release in the frontier provinces because of the war going on there. This was shot on digital, and some places couldn't show it. We have only 40, four-zero, digital screens across the country. We got released in 20. I was proud of that. Next I will go the rounds of Universities.”
How Dukhtar Got Funded, Made & Shown
“After we did the rounds for finding the money, we got support from small pockets and very modest sources that helped kickstart this journey into the unknown. I want people to know this is a first-time female director, first-time crew, first feature film. It is a new step in our nascent film industry.”
“The film had a very successful four-week run in Pakistan. That was a first for an art house film. I had this fear in my heart about child marriage (how it would be received by audiences).”
“Audiences in Pakistan, they are sick and tired of fantasy, (the ‘hip shake’ she mentioned earlier).”
“Men and women equally, came out to support the film. You have the progressive side (rarely depicted in West) of people. It was a happy collision of both sides. For bringing it (child marriage) to the forefront.”
Afia Nathaniel’s Unique Backstory
“My background was in Computer Science, but I always wanted to be a storyteller in real life.”
“After my bachelors, I went into advertising. We do have a (robust) advertising industry. Then I got into Columbia (on scholarship).”
“I am very much a New Yorker now. My stories always take me back to Pakistan.”
On Casting Dukhtar & On Location
“I literally went to schools with a camera (looking for the right girl). It was also a question of finding the right parents too. After three months of constant auditioning, this couple walked in with their daughter (Saleha Aref). She was on the equivalent of “Sesame Street” (in Pakistan). I quickly did some improv scenes. The chemistry was superb with Samiya (Mumtaz).”
“You thought they were mother and daughter, and they looked (like family).”
“(Saleha’s) father is an adventurer also a photographer, so it worked out.”
“(The male lead) Mohib Mirza is a very popular TV actor, as you can see by how he moves his hair!”
“I said ‘no’ at first, I wouldn’t give him the part right away. I wanted him to fight for it. He didn't know I was actually auditioning him during the interview.”
“The lead actress (Samiya Mumtaz) I really really love, she is a stage actor. I wanted her all along. I’d seen her a lot (in theater).”
“We shot in deep mid-winter in the Northern side of Pakistan, it was like -13 degrees Celsius - if anyone can translate that (to Fahrenheit) - we were like a big wedding party.”
Scenic Truck Driven in Film is Actual Very Realistic
“(On the Truck which saves the women via escape) the Symbol of Tiger, it is not just for bravery but for love. There are trucks very much like that one. They have their own (style).”
“We shot bordering China. (In the movie) the family itself comes from tribal areas, I changed a bit of the back story to have them from Northern Territories. Had them speak Pashto (though the film is in Urdu).”
How Does It Play in a Muslim Country?
“I think it is more of a cultural thing, than a religious thing. Often these stories are buried. There are at least 40 countries with child marriage. In 10 years, (according to statistics available) that is 140 million girls. Where there is poverty, those levels, it is endemic.”
On Opposition to the Depiction of Warlords, Violence & Child Marriage
There have been some people (who protested). You have to begin it with some kind of dialogue.”
“We do have child marriage laws. But there is a big gap between. Law on paper and how it is (executed).”
“The power then resides with anyone who sees the film. That is where the power of the audience resides.”
DUKHTAR, a stunner from Pakistan as part of the new movement in cinema from that country, is directed by Afia Nathaniel, and stars Samiya Mumtaz as “Allah Rakhi” (God Protects) as a mother whose elementary school dukhtar/daughter played by Saleha Aref, must find a way out of both cultural conventions and a death sentence for the two of them as they take to the road with a reluctant truck driver (Mohib Mirza) who finds his own redemption from war-scarred deserter to warrior/protector for these two strangers who become family.
See website: http://www.dukhtarthefilm.com and for information about screening it dukhtarthefilm@gmail.com
The 26th Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, with this year’s theme “Goodbye Winter, Hello World,” continues through Jan. 12, 2015, stay tuned here… Marquee sponsors include Cartier, Mercedes-Benz, and many more from Quebec to Switzerland to Asia and beyond.
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