Unlocking Creativity

Unlocking Creativity

Unlocking Creativity

APFF and University of Sargodha, Punjab launches Campus Cinema VC announced to establish state-of-the-art Cinema at Campus

SARGODHA: FEBRUARY 20, 2019 – The University of Sargodha, in collaboration with the Asia Peace Film Festival (APFF), announced to establish a state-of-the-art Campus Cinema at the main campus of the University.
Students and participants greeted the Vice Chancellor, Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad on his landmark declaration which will promote filmmaking and cinema culture in and around Sargodha. Jinnah Hall, in the glorious Jinnah Building, will be refurbished to host the cinema.
The concept launching ceremony of Campus Cinema was jointly organized by the Department of Communication and Media Studies and Institute of Art and Design, Sargodha University and Asia Peace Film Festival.
Campus Cinema is a flagship initiative of APFF engaging young and emerging filmmakers currently studying in different universities and media colleges in Pakistan.
“The core objective of the CC is to create a learning opportunity for filmmakers, writers, directors, producers and actors so that they can enrich their skills and content for a competitive production to the media and film industry”, explained Yasir Qureshi, executive director of APFF.
The project of Campus Cinema will be aimed at screening of selected works from all across Asia, conducting master classes on A-Z of Filmmaking, holding mentoring and tutorial sessions, giving briefings on inter-university film competition and facilitating multi-country certification of the course, he informed.
In his introductory remarks Amjad Bhatti, Chairman of APFF said that APFF is a travelling festival inspired by the nomadic tradition of art, craft and creativity striving to bring filmmaking and peace building communities together creating an interface for a mass-level cultural dialogue. “APFF believes that we are living in a diverse world and we need to accept and respect our differences for a peaceful coexistence,” he added.
APFF creative director, Amir Masoud Soheili, Iranian filmmaker whose fim “Blue Eyed Boy” has travelled to more than 100 international film festival and got 18 international awards also spoke through Skype and expressed hos gratitude to the University of Sargodha for hosting the launching ceremony of Campus Cinema.
One of the key features of the ceremony was the screening of APFF-curated and internationally awarded short films, documentaries, music videos and animations focusing on the concept of peace, harmony, diversity and pluralism. A special screening session was based on works from Syria, Iran, China, Japan, Korea, Indonesia and Pakistan.
The screening session was followed by a panel discussion on the challenges and prospects of Pakistani alternative cinema with contemporary film-makers and professionals from the industry.
Addressing the ceremony, Dr Wang Shan, a Chinese scholar on film and culture expressed her happiness at being in Sargodha University, especially interacting with the zealous audience. She also talked about regional cooperation in Filmmaking and Art Education and shared some outlines as how Pak-China cooperation can be extended to joint projects of filmmaking and film education.
Masood Baig, Head of PTV World, in his address announced the biggest National Film Festival to be held as part of the Pakistan Day celebrations and asked the students to submit their entries to share inspiring stories which are trailblazing across different fields.
Dr Ishtiaq Ahmad, the Vice Chancellor Sargodha University was the chief guest of the launching ceremony of Campus Cinema. He presented souvenirs, shields and gifts among the guests. He said that Sargodha region is rich in many aspects and the students are multi-talented. He encouraged the students to participate in competitions and to showcase their talent by storytelling of daily activities through films.
Kainat Thaibo a filmmaker from Sindh, Fatima Shah a representative of Higher Education Commission, Ashraf Kakar an anthropologist associated with APFF and Hasnain Ghayur a journalist and media expert based in Lahore also attended the event and interacted with faculty and students of Sargodha University.
At the end, students enjoyed the special musical performance by a famous artist Syed Sibt-e-Haider.

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