Young Pakistani director Muhammad Danish Qasim cannot accept his film festival award after the US has denied him entry permission. His film, dealing with terrorism and US drone attacks in Pakistan, was awarded in Seattle.
“The most likely reason for the visa denial was the sensitive subject of my film,” Qasim says. Neither the filmmaker nor his co-producers were allowed in the States, with their visa applications twice rejected, The Express Tribune reports.
The US government did not disclose the reason for the denial. The director and his team were left deeply disappointed that they could not attend one of the biggest events for young film-makers in the world.
The film, made by students of Iqra University, was awarded at the 2012 National Film Festival For Talented Youth (NFFTY), held annually in Seattle, Washington.
The 20-minute-long The Other Side tells the tragic and disturbing story of a child whose neighborhood gets bombed, killing all of his loved ones. Later the boy is recruited by a terrorist group who abuse his loss for their own purposes.
“Most of the films being made right now are based on social issues, so we picked up an issue of international importance which is the abrogation of our national space by foreign countries,” the director said. “The film takes the audience very close to the damage caused by drone attacks. I have tried my best to connect all the dots that lead to a drone attack and have shot the prevailing aftermath of such attacks in a very realistic and raw manner.”
The US government previously denied visas to Pakistanis who touched upon the drone attacks theme. Pakistani lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who had sued the CIA on behalf of civilian drone victims and was also denied a visa to the US when he wanted to attend the Drone Summit in Washington.
The case caused massive outcry and the US government had to reverse their decision.
