THE PAKISTAN POST 19 NOVEMBER 2004 WAITING FOR SUNRISE: A POWERFUL FILM ON POVERTY AFFLICTED CHILDREN IN LAHORE I'm trying to give a voice to the poor and unaffected children - Aneel Ahmad Murtaza Ali Shah London: An award winning film director of Pakistani origin is making waves in the film industry after having his project on the state of Pakistan in Lahore Selected from amongst thousands of entries. Aneel Ahmad travelled to Lahore to film the days and nights of hapless children on the streets of Lahore and the daunting struggles they face in order to survive in a class society like Pakistan where the gap between the rich and the poor is alarming – and ever widening. Besides this, waiting for sunrise covers a wide range of issues about social deprivation, class divide, the horrors of poverty and prostitution in Lahore. The idea for the film erupted in aneel's mind when once on a visit to Lahore with his family a shoeshine boy aged around 8 years, at the airport, asked if he could clean his shoes. That provided an eye opening experience for Aneel Ahmad, who has previously shot a surreal short film titled A Man's World which was about a woman with psychological problems and finds salvation in boxing. Introducing waiting for sunrise. Aneel Ahmad says the film is about poverty, child labour and prostitution. The documentary concerns the extreme poverty that is located within the streets of Lahore. Children without parents they live in slums, cold and unloved. And they must beg to stay alive. Undergoing verbal and physical abuse to bring enough money to live each day as it comes. This is a film bout the underprivileged children of Lahore and the social class controls their environment. For me its not just a documentary its a voice for all those kids who have been so unfortunate to be born within an area from which there is no escape. Whilst filming in Lahore Aneel was struck by the social and economic divide, the gulf between rich and poor and the totally different lives they live side by side. On the one hand a class enjoying a westernised society and the other are beggars, dying children, child labourers, prostitution and factory workers and their survival. Aneel does not want to be drawn into political c onclusion and judgments. But his film invites the rich world to take a look at what they are doing to help the hapless world. To make waiting for sunrise was a moral question in itself, how Pakistani society is depicted, the impact of this film and the issues that I put forward to the general public. I hope that people realise that this documentary isn't a political statement. It’s more of on human rights and social issues that all third world or developing countries face. We as Europeans have to sit down and think about what we are actually doing to help improve and assist countries that have social chaos and deprivation. Our governments need to deal with the poorest of the poor and the dispossessed in Pakistani Urban society. Please don't get me wrong here into trying to make a political statement I’m trying to give a voice to the kids that I met. I'm sure that any genuine decent person will understand that I genuinely went out to Pakistan to make a film about true life. Having seen his work and the stir it will create some major companies are now backing Aneel in his venture. These well-known companies are Merchant Ivory Productions and Gurinder Chadha's Bend it Films. Merchant Ivory Productions the producers of Oscar winning films such as Remains of the Day and Howard’s End, are offering to help in many areas. Aneel believes that its extremely important that British Pakistani's get into the media industry, as there is a lack of Pakistanis going into the media Field. ASIAN LEADER UK Newspaper for North West & Midlands UK --- Sept 04 An award winning film director from Manchester is making waves in the film industry after having his script selected from amongst thousands of entries from this year’s collaboration between North West Vision and the UK Film Council. Aneel Ahmad, whose previous work includes ‘Asian Invasion’ and his last film, ‘A Man’s World’ generated interest from the Cannes Film Festival and Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend it like Beckham and Bride and Prejudice. With the working title of ‘Street Kids’, Aneel Ahmed will start filming his latest documentary in Lahore this September. Aneel’s last film, A Man’s World, about the personal struggles and demons faced by a female boxer from Salford, has brought rave reviews from many of the film industry’s leading critics, not only because the 15 minute masterpiece was shot on an ultra low budget, or the lead part was portrayed by no less than 7 different actors, but you can actually watch the film backwards to see the story being told from a different angle! With only days to go before flying out to Lahore with his close friend Hussein Mamoo, the assistant director and dialect coach, the Asian Leader caught up with Aneel at Granada Studios to ask him how he felt how things were going… Now.. The documentary in Lahore, what’s it all about? Well, we needed a theme, and as a pretext for our research for the upcoming film “Street Kids” we will be following a real life shoe shine boy and observing the struggle he faces on a daily basis… and then trying to find the universal element of struggle that we all face no matter who we are or where we are right now. Going to Lahore, how important is the location to the story? My parents come from Lahore and from often visits there, I believe that literally every street corner there has a story to tell. We will be also collaborating with a major studio there, the famous Shah Noor Studios where we have a full compliment of crew waiting for us, as only myself and Hussein will be flying out. Where did the idea for the film come from? Well, the last time I was in Lahore, I was at the airport with my Dad about to leave, when a small boy approached us and asked if he could clean our shoes. These kind of things don’t happen in England, so my Dad suggested that whatever money we had in our pockets we would exchange it for a small amount of shoe polish and we will clean the shoes ourselves. The amount actually came to more than an average years earnings for shoe shine boys, and as he realised this, tears rolled down his face and he ran to his family as fast as he could… as I watched him run, I said to myself.. now there’s a story. How did you get into cinema? Well it was quite by accident really. When I was 20, my mate knew of a film competition by the Lloyds TSB and Channel 4, so we decided, being bad boys and all, to make a documentary about Eid celebrations on Wilmslow Road. To our surprise, it got shortlisted! And the whole process of filming and editing just got me hooked on how to do more! Who inspires you? Loads of people, Merchant Ivory, Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, Mira Nair, Satyajit Ray, Im influenced by many filmmakers and how they tell their stories on screen. They are like explorers, trying new ways to involve the viewers in the story. Also M Night Shaymalan, quite simply he has put us Asian directors on the map because he makes films for the mainstream, it just so happens that he is Asian. Where did you grow up? Longsight.. the tough streets of Longsight. People who know me as a film maker expect me to make something like Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels, but I don’t want to do that, I would rather explore something like ‘struggle’ and what it means to people. I want to be experimental. How does your family feel about your career? Smiles… my parents still think its “a marrasi da kam”! and I should be doing something nine to five.. but they have given me the freedom and are supportive. In your last film, you worked with boxing champ Ricky Hatton, what’s he like? With all the recent and well deserved adulation of Amir Khan, it was nice to see Ricky send a video message of support before the final and that is who he is! A terribly nice guy who went out of his way and brought the professional input needed to make A Man’s World the success that it is. What is the real power of cinema? The real power is in that it’s visual as compared to say a novelist who tries to get the readers imagination to comprehend the story, whereas the visual in the cinema is more easier to digest and as a director you can use that power to do amazing things. You sometimes compose your own music, how did you get into that? I guess I just found it natural to learn how to do it, I mean, am not an editor yet I edit all my own films, and by studying the wholeness of films I can find what musical scores would fit on certain scenes… mostly I played around with music software and it just went on from there. Your views on Bollywood films? First and foremost I am a British film maker, and I do find time to watch them as they seem to have improved in quality over the years. As to getting involved in the Bollywood industry, I have no interest at this moment in time as I have work to do here in the UK. But you never know in the future! What do you think of Michael Moore and the current interest he has created in docu-films? He certainly has brought a huge impact to documentary style films which are now paving the way for ideas that can be told in new and interesting ways. Nilgun, my executive producer on Street Kids, was saying to me is it ‘fly on the wall’ or ‘talking heads’? as there are many different ways to get the visual message across. Your last film was only 15 minutes long, is it easier or harder to tell a story in such a short space of time? Oh definitely harder in a short time frame! As you have to develop the entertainment factor with a beginning, middle and end of your story. As a film maker, a short film is like your CV and you are giving snapshots of a film that could be told longer. Do you have certain people in mind for the roles, or do you hold auditions? I don’t usually follow the prescribed path, I have a fluid approach in that I work with actors who are complete novices, amateurs to professionals. In my last film, A Man’s World, all the actors were amateurs from the local theatre as I wanted to bring the realism of the story from the streets to the streets. What do you look for in an actor? Again there is no set criteria for me, I guess it’s an approach that enables me to gel with the acting crew where they can express the elements I want to portray on the screen. I have, however, set myself the ambition to work with the likes of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Scarlett Johansson, Ashiwari Rai..... you name it.... in 2-3 years time. How important is it for Asians to get into the film and movie making industry? I think it is extremely important for more Asians to get involved and then not only stay in the framework of stereotypical slots, but to expand and explore the mainstream and commercial aspects of film making. My films are for everyone to see, not only Asian people, as the themes will be universal. How would you like to be remembered by the public and the film industry? Well, you know that famous picture? Of Muhammad Ali when he knocked out Sonny Liston and he was out cold and spread eagled on the canvass with Ali looking down on him? Well that image brought out Ali’s existence so to speak, his whole meaning of his life encaptured in one single image… well I want my films to go beyond that and touch peoples lives by the many stories that I have to tell through the power of films. Your plans for the future? I feel like a juggler! There’s so much going on at the moment! After my current project which I am focusing on totally, another short Boot Polish with the help of the UK Film Council and North West Vision, there are 2 feature projects planned, a 2 part political drama called ‘Jihad’ of which I have already started on the script and I want to produce something along the lines of Salaam Bombay filmed in Pakistan, that’s also another reason of flying out to Lahore is to bring together our collaboration with artistes over there for future films. As with all my projects, they will be presented in an original and entertaining style.. so I guess I will say just watch this space! Finally…any regrets? Laughs out loud! Yes lots of regrets about becoming a film maker! Long hours.. never goin sleep.. writing all night…eating chicken burgers.. family giving grief! Aneel Ahmad’s feet and charm are certainly grounded and doesn’t seem fazed by the momentum gathering around his talent. Almost on a daily basis he is receiving interest from major production companies ranging from Chris Bernard, feature film director Letters of Brezhnev, through to Bend It Films headed by Gurinder Chadha, even Merchant Ivory Productions (Oscar winning films such as Remains of the day, Howards End) are offering to help source out crew details for him! Nearing the end of the interview, it was hard not to notice the sheer focus and determination of Aneel and how he has set out to master his art and to make an impact in the UK film industry. Even a feeble compliment on my part was shredded with good humour when I said he could be known as the British version of M Night Shaymalan, to which he replied he is the British version of Aneel Ahmad! by Raees Khan & Arshad Mohammed The Raging Bull Maker, boxing Clever. NEW ARTICLE IN THE ADVERTISER FRIDAY 2nd MAY 2003 BY DUNCAN PONTER The brutal world of boxing is not an obvious place to look in order to escape personal demons. But the bloody sport is used as a stark metaphor for the salvation of a disaffected woman from the outskirts of Manchester who finds solace inside the ring. this is the premise of a new short film from independent filmmaker aneel ahmad who recently was selected from thousands of writers for a prestigious course run by Taps sponsored by Bafta the bbc, ITV and was held at Granada television. His surreal film called a mans world focuses on the central character Kate who is played in succession by no less than seven characters each actor portraying a chapter of her life. Shot on the Original Coronation street and many locations within Manchester. Professional fighter Morris Core and trainers such as Billy the preacher Graham, Brian Hughes and WBU Welterweight champion Ricky Hatton have put those involved through their paces in an eight week, intensive boxing programme to ensure realism. Aneel aged 28 from belle vue hopes to start shooting next month and following the edit is aiming for the film to be completed in June and July. Never more was the sinister and violent nature of pugilism more graphically brought to the big screen than Martin Scosceses visceral Raging Bull, which starred the compelling Robert De Niro as the troubled 1950's middleweight world champion Jake La Motta. Aneel who confesses an admiration for the film said "im really influenced as a director by Raging Bull and the 40's 50's golden age of boxing. Although im not making a retro film, this is the look I want to see cinematically". Aneel has put in over 5 months of research into making this movie attending Major boxing events and going to boxing Gyms across the north-west. Aneel said " If I want to make a film true to the game I have to think like and act like a boxer" Shooting in Salford, moston Collyhurst, and Champs Camp Moss side. Aneels work has now been commissioned by the uk film council/north west vision/ virgin shorts and he hopes to take it to Edinburgh film festival and the Hallowed turf of Cannes. He also plans a feature film in the near future focusing on the inner workings of street life in Manchester. by Duncan Ponter. A Man's World by Chris Bernard Hi Aneel, It was fantastic - everyone was well impressed. Visual poetry, which was so poignant and captivating. Beautifully shot, fabulous sound, well pitched editing that wasn't too full of cutting and visual devices. Extremely imaginative with an angle on the whole area of real working class and earthy sexual politic that I have rarely seen discussed. I can honestly say I could go on and on. Perhaps it needs a little further trimming but as it is such a unique artistic piece it is difficult to say and to categorise. WELL DONE - I'm just so proud for you. Chris