Don't
Ask Why
Anousheh lives with her strict Muslim parents and two brothers
in Karachi. At 17, she is at an age where daughters are usually
married off. But Anousheh wants to study and refuses to accept
the restrictions her religion and culture have imposed on her personal
freedom. It causes conflict with her mother and lengthy discussions
with her father. Her desire to be 'as free as her brothers' is
drawing her close to the Islamic political party, Jamaat-i-Islami
which, although dominated by men, promises the liberating power
of Islam for both men and women. The film, by one of the few independent
filmmakers in Pakistan, follows Anousheh as she struggles to realise
her dreams and cope with her share of disappointment.
Mumbai Documentary Film Festival
Munich Documentary Film Festival
Sheffield International Documentary Festival
South Asian Film Festival, NY
“ Lively, exciting and eminently watchable: a rare quality in an era
when sometimes mere video recordings pass for great documentaries.
Sumar's film takes us on a journey into the life of a 17-year-old
girl from an Urdu-speaking Muslim family in Karachi. The film, based
on the diary of Anousheh, provides us a rare glimpse of the dreams,
aspirations and fears of a young girl growing up in a largely conservative,
patriarchal society.”
Pratik Joshi
Federation of Film Societies in India
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Sabiha Sumar is the only independent film director in Pakistan. She studied
film at Sarah Lawrence College, New York and has since been making films
on social, political and environmental issues.
Her films "Who Will Cast the First Stone", "Karachi" and "Where
Peacocks Dance" have been aired on Channel Four, UK and "Of Mothers,
Mice and Saints" was produced for ZDF, Germany. Her work has been shown
at the London and Rotterdam Film Festivals. Most of her films cannot be shown
in Pakistan.
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Pakistan, 1999
58 mins
Beta Colour
Urdu, English
Subtitled
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Direction
Sabiha Sumar
Photography
M.Claire Pijman
M. Iqbal
Sven Sauer
Sound
Ludo Keeris
GM Chand
Editing
Calle Overweg
Mixing
Jochen Voerste
Music
Savan Dutta
Contact
Women Make Movies
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