Arafat Mazhar is the Director of Engage Foundation for Research and Dialogue, Director of Shehri Pakistan, which produces civic and legal awareness animations, and Director of Puffball Studios. He has directed the Urdu animated dystopian short film, Shehr e Tabassum. His upcoming animated cyberkhilafat short film, Swipe, releases THIS SATURDAY.
He talks to Ismail Farooq about his two short films: Shehr e Tabassum and Swipe. The two also have a detailed conversation about Pakistani society, Arafat's extensive research on Pakistan's blasphemy law, and his upcoming documentary on the topic.
Swipe
IG: @swipethefilm
FB: facebook.com/swipethefilmpk
Twitter: @swipefilm
YouTube: youtube.com/shehretabassum
Shehr e Tabassum
IG: @shehretabassum
FB: facebook.com/shehretabassum
Twitter: @ShehreTabassum
YouTube: youtube.com/shehretabassum
website: muskaan.pk
Puffball Studios
IG: @puffballstudios
FB: facebook.com/puffstudios
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Edited by Umer Fasie Bashir
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Ismail Farooq (Host): https://twitter.com/thehalfspaces
Timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
01:45 - Shehr-e-Tabassum's intended message
04:00 - "Ishq" and "honour" in our society
04:30 - When you force a word to only mean one thing
06:00 - The idea behind Swipe
09:30 - "Mob virtual justice"
09:50 - More Swipe talk (plot, ideas etc.)
13:00 - Arafat's haunting anecdote about a religious jalsa
14:20 - Arafat's fascinating personal story
16:20 - Children's innocence, how society impacts us, and personal agency
19:10 - Taking inspiration from James Baldwin & combating radicalisation in a new manner
24:10 - Society's response
28:00 - The madrassa sending its students abroad for MPhil programs
29:00 - The disconnect in Islamic teachings and the religion we practice and preach here
37:00 - Is "cyberkhilafat" the next step for our society, and what's next for the genre (more films?)
41:00 - Pakistan's sociopolitical situation, and why Arafat hasn't lost hope
48:35 - The weirdest segue of all time
48:50 - A DEEP dive into Pakistan's blasphemy law (history/origins, validity, myths, realities etc.)
1:09:20 - The concepts of fear and disgust
1:11:10 - How Salman Taseer's murder was the tipping point
1:16:35 - Arafat's upcoming documentary on the blasphemy law