This movie was released in 2010 and won over 20 international awards. Pakistani indie cinema is on a roll! see trailer below
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Interview with the directer: http://www.examiner.com/film-festivals-in-national/mian-adnan-ahmad-brings-heal-to-the-34th-cleveland-international-film-festival-showing-great-promise Mian Adnan Ahmad brings Heal to The 34th Cleveland International Film Festival showing great promise](http://www.examiner.com/film-festivals-in-national/mian-adnan-ahmad-brings-heal-to-the-34th-cleveland-international-film-festival-showing-great-promise#ixzz1ViLT2AW1)
People often ask how interview subjects are chosen, as requests are numerous, especially at a big event like The 34th Cleveland International Film Festival](http://www.clevelandfilm.org/). It is a fairly simple process, as the effort and gumption the filmmaker shows is often the determining factor when choosing between multiple people. It seems that if someone is willing to go the extra mile, take time out of their day, do the things necessary to put together these pieces, and do it in a timely manner, then they have shown me that they possess a large part of what it takes to pull off a successful film production. It is not surprising that Mian Adnan Ahmad has found this success as a filmmaker so far and it appears that he will continue to do so. You can see his work Heal at The 34th Cleveland International Film Festival on Friday March 26th at 12:00 PM and on Saturday March 27th at 11:20 AM as part of the Independent Shorts Program #11](http://www.clevelandfilm.org/festival/films?search_text=keyword&search_year=&search_alphabet=&search_day=&search_category=&search_program=51069). This program is full of films that look to be really interesting, but dollars to donuts, my bet is Ahmad’s film is the one that you remember after the festival from this group.
Here is a look at an email interview that was recently done with Ahmad. He was so beautifully elegant in what he said that it seemed appropriate to give to you what we discussed. Film Festivals Examiner (FFE): Can you give me a little synopsis of the film? Mian Adnan Ahmad (MAA): In a rural village deprived of normal schooling, a gifted child, Azeem, looks up to the only teacher in his village and aspires to be a poet. Circumstances turn for the worst when a tragic night shatters his dream leaving his teacher in a state of despair, pulling him away from teaching the children. Realizing the importance of his teacher, Azeem does everything in his capacity to help him…start again. FFE: How did this film come to be, meaning, is the story something that happened to you or something you saw? Or did you just create the story from your imagination? MAA: My experiences while making a documentary on children affected by a major earthquake that hit Pakistan gave me a real glimpse into what destruction can do to children. Add to this a constant awareness of the conflict that the region is currently in, as well as seeing the hunger for education in the rural areas, this formed the basis for my need to tell a story such as Heal.
As a team of young filmmakers, we were motivated to tell a story that allowed audiences to connect at a human level with people living in these areas of conflict and Heal provided us with an opportunity to achieve the same. It also allowed me to write a story that has an aspect of the supernatural in it, which is a genre that interests me as well. FFE: What are some of your filmmaking goals? Do you do it for the art or to try to make a living, or some of both? MAA: I want to be able to tell stories through films, and have the means necessary to be able to do that regularly. I left behind a consulting career in the IT industry to pursue filmmaking and have seen that the best work usually comes from the heart. Making a living is definitely important but that cannot be the main reason to want to make films. There has to be an artistic drive and passion that guides you in the process. FFE: Any plans for a feature length film upcoming that you would like to talk about? MAA: There are a couple of scripts that I am currently working on. One of them is a feature length adaptation of Heal and the other is something totally different in nature. FFE: How did you get into filmmaking, like what made you start doing this?
Well, it’s hard to go to an exact starting point but whenever I look back, one film that I think made me curious about wanting to make films was Back to the Future. There was something about that film that seemed to spark my interest. Other than that I started using my dad’s VHS camera when I was around eleven. I tried to experiment and make bits and pieces of films with the help of my elder brother. We dubbed music over home videos using a VCR and tried to emulate the whole film process including various attempts at trying to recreate visual effects used in films.
However, being in Pakistan it was never easy to pursue this as a career at the time. I had to complete my studies in a more conventional field and my desire to make films had to be pursued on the side whenever possible. My parents always did back me though. Even though they wanted me to complete my education in a more reliable field since there was no real means to study film over here, they were very supportive of my desire to make films. My father was always open to its possibilities and my mother who wasn’t too sure about it at first, is now my main supporter.
So I kept making films when I could and applied here and there, eventually getting the Fulbright scholarship to pursue a Grad program in film in the U.S. Since then, filmmaking has no longer been a side thing for me and is now very much what I am pursuing as a career. FFE: Anything you else you would like people to know about Heal? Heal was nominated in five categories at the annual CECIL awards ceremony](http://cecilawards.com/) at Chapman University, winning in four, including BEST PICTURE. It was also the only film selected by the school for a special screening in South Korea and one of only six films selected as part of the First Cut Showcase being held at the DGA (Directors Guild of America) head quarters in Los Angeles. Heal was an extremely ambitious project that was made possible with the support of the local Afghan / Pakistan communities and with the combined talents of the cast and crew. Some of the cast and crew members are listed below:
Cast: Ameer A. Zhowandai, Navid Negahban, Hannah Sher, Fereshta Kazemi, Reha Zamani, Summar Swift Bitar, Syed Hashimi, Walid Amini, Hamid Majid Habibi
Crew: Marcus Metsala (Producer), Dani Sanchez-Lopez (Cinematographer), Prajakta Ghag (Production Designer), Yukako Shimada (Editor), John Kenneth E. Brady (Sound Designer) and Tuomas Kantelinen (Composer)
How can you read that and not want to see the artistic efforts of this impressive young man? His passion for the art form and wealth of stories to tell makes Mian Adnan Ahmad a true filmmaker to watch and one that has what it takes to succeed. You can take in his work at The 34th Cleveland International Film Festival this weekend on Friday and Saturday. Get your tickets now, or if they are on standby by the time you see this, get there early to give yourself the best chance of getting into the film. It is part of the Independent Shorts Program #11 and a link to the whole program listing can be found below.
