Three-time Emmy-nominated filmmaker and Pakistani Academy Selection Committee Chairman Mohammed Ali Naqvi has launched the Pakistan Crescent Collective (PCC), representing Pakistan’s official presence at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival and marking the first time the country will have a central hub at the global event, a press release said on Monday. 

The PCC will serve as a “central hub” in a week-long event at Cannes from May 14-20 “to discover and nurture the next generation of talent, preserve films and promote Pakistani and diaspora films globally, thereby advancing Pakistan’s visual culture.”

“As one of the only countries without a central hub at Cannes, it’s imperative to launch initiatives like The Crescent Collective,” Naqvi was quoted as saying in a press release by Modoxy Media. “We are dedicated to championing Pakistani cinema and talent, both at home and abroad. It’s time to celebrate our own.”

Pakistan has made a significant impact at Cannes in recent years through the films Joyland in 2022 and last year’s In Flames, which were the country’s official submissions to the Academy Awards.

The Legend of Maula Jatt became the highest-grossing Pakistani film ever while Hollywood has also seen increased Pakistani representation, with Naqvi co-executive producing two seasons of the Netflix top ten hit, Turning Point: The Bomb & The Cold War and directing The Accused: Damned or Devoted?- the first Pakistani film nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. 

Ms. Marvel, the first Muslim-American superhero series, also showcased Pakistani-American talent, while Iram Parveen Bilal’s Wakhiri and Fawzia Mirza’s Queen of My Dreams have also been well received recently. 

“The Pakistan Crescent Collective aims to build on this momentum by launching a robust and comprehensive program for the 77th Cannes Film Festival which includes a filmmaker panel discussion and event following the preview screening for the highly anticipated ‘The Glassworker’,” the statement said, referring to Pakistan first 2D hand-painted traditional film.

The PCC will also be co-hosting the inauguration and reception for the world’s first South Asian Film Market, launched by the Oscar-qualifying Tasveer Film Festival. 

As part of the launch, Tasveer and the Pakistan Crescent Collective will co-host an exclusive speed networking event on the American Pavilion Terrace. Selected filmmaking teams will meet with established film financiers and funders to pitch their next project during a rapid round of networking, followed by a cocktail sundowner reception for all participants. This event is part of American Pavilion’s Global Lens Day.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s pre-Hajj flight operation is in full swing as more than 9,844 pilgrims have so far reached Madinah from different parts of the South Asian country via 40 flights, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Monday. 

Muhammad Umar Butt, a spokesperson of Pakistan’s religion ministry, told APP three flights each from Islamabad and Karachi, four from Lahore, and one each from Multan and Sialkot on Sunday transported 3,254 Hajj pilgrims to Madinah ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage. 

“Since May 9, different airlines operated almost 40 flights from major cities of Pakistan to transport the guests of Allah Almighty to the holy city of Madinah in first leg of their pilgrimage,” APP said. 

Butt said from May 17, Pakistani pilgrims who have completed their eight-day stay in Madinah will start departing for the holy city of Makkah where Muslims from across the world will start gathering for the annual pilgrimage. 

He said the ministry has taken “elaborate arrangements” to extend maximum facilities to pilgrims from both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. He said before the pre-Hajj flight operation kicked off on May 9, the religion ministry held extensive training sessions to teach Pakistani pilgrims about Hajj obligatory acts and informed them about key arrangements made by the government to ensure their pilgrimage remains hassle-free. 

Butt said the ministry, under the Pakistan Hajj Mission has established two full-fledged hospitals, one each in Makkah and Madinah. There, he said, doctors and paramedic staff perform duties round the clock. 

“A total of 66 doctors and paramedics have been deployed at the hospitals, where medical checkups are conducted and medicines are being provided free of cost,” he said. 

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and requires every adult Muslim to undertake the journey to the holy Islamic sites in Makkah at least once in their lifetime if they are financially and physically able.

Pakistan has a Hajj quota of 179,210 pilgrims this year, according to the Pakistani religious affairs ministry. Of them, 63,805 pilgrims will be performing the pilgrimage under the government scheme, while the rest would be accommodated by private tour operators.

This year’s pilgrimage is expected to run from June 14 till June 19.