Hamza Bangash’s film to premiere at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival

Hamza Bangash’s name came to the forefront earlier this year when the filmmaker and writer represented Pakistan at the 72nd Locarno International Film Festival. His debut feature film, Mariam also won the MPA-AFA award at Busan International Film Festival 2019 (BIFF). With award-winning films like Dia to his credit, Hamza next short is yet again making a mark by premiering at the world’s biggest short film festival.

Titled Stray Dogs Come Out at Night, this will be the first Pakistani short film to have its world premiere at Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2020.

Hamza took to Instagram to announce the news: “I can’t believe this. Our little film has made it to the world’s biggest short film festival. I am so excited to announce that our film, Stray Dogs Come Out at Night, will be having it’s World Premiere at Clermont Film Fest!” he wrote.

 

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I can’t believe this. Our little film has made it to the world’s biggest short film festival. . . I am so excited to announce that our film, Stray Dogs Come Out at Night, will be having it’s World Premiere at @clermontfilmfest !! . . With over 7000 submissions this year, and only 80 films selected- we had a 1% chance of getting in- but we did!! Stray Dogs Come Out at Night is the first Pakistani film to play at the festival, and we’re playing in International Competition! . . This is so crazy. This film was made on a nothing budget. It was guts and glory (and so much pain- 9 months in edit…and we all got sunburn). It was risky. But it paid off. . . I am so grateful to my insane cast and crew for sticking it out. We did it guys!! . . Here is to starting off 2020 with the greatest. THE INCREDIBLE STARZ Iqbal by @madhashmi Khurrum by @tipudiary . . BEST CREW Executive Producer @minz252 Producer @carol92 Cinematographer @yasirkhanpakistan Production Designer @huzkhan Assistant Director @nabeelhere SFX Makeup @danialshahzadkhan Production House @citylights_mediapro . . BOOYAAA

A post shared by Hamza Bangash (@hamzabang) on Dec 20, 2019 at 4:00am PST

According to Hamza, “With over 7000 submissions this year, and only 80 films selected – we had a 1% chance of getting in – but we did! Stray Dogs Come Out at Night is the first Pakistani film to play at the festival, and we’re playing in International Competition!” he added.

“This is so crazy. This film was made on a nothing budget. It was guts and glory (and so much pain – 9 months in edit… and we all got sunburn). It was risky. But it paid off. I am so grateful to my insane cast and crew for sticking it out. We did it guys!” Hamza wrote in the post.

Read: Hamza Bangash’s film bags first prize at the Busan International Film Festival

According to its production house, CityLights Media Production, The 11-minute long Punjabi short revolves around “the life of Iqbal (played by Mohammad Ali Hashmi), a maalishwala (masseur) by profession, who cannot come to terms with his illness. He convinces his uncle Khurrum, essayed by Adnan Shah Tipu, to take a day trip to the beach, desperate for respite.”

Clermont-Ferrand Festival is held annually in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and is the second largest film festival in France after Cannes. It is scheduled to held from 31st January to 8th February, 2020.