KARACHI: The executive producer of an anthology film based on the partition of the subcontinent, which is a collaboration between artists from India and Pakistan said on Tuesday that the project aims to connect people from both the countries "on a deeply human level."
Titled ‘The Lasting August’, the hand-drawn film is an initiative of SAMAAJ, a Pakistani cultural organization led by journalist Sehyr Mirza and filmmaker and poet Ammar Aziz. SAMAAJ brought together 45 visual artists, authors, musicians, sound designers, voice over, actors, and a creative crew from both India and Pakistan for the animated film. While it was supervised from Pakistan, two separate teams worked on the project, one from Lahore and the other from the Indian city of Goa.
The Lasting August is a mid-length film that will highlight the seven decades after the partition of India in 1947, its creators said. On August 14, 1947 after the British divided colonial India two independent dominions — India and Pakistan (which was later divided again into Pakistan and Bangladesh) — millions of people were displaced along religious lines, resulting in mass migration. It also sparked outbreaks of widespread violence that left hundreds of thousands (a conservative estimate) dead on both sides of the border.
"In a world often divided by a political rhetoric, The Lasting August aims to connect people on a deeply human level," executive producer Sehyr Mirza told Arab News. "We are excited to bring this passion project to life and share it with the world."
While the makers of the film did not announce a specific date for its release, they said The Lasting August would be released worldwide on an OTT platform and screened at local venues across South Asia.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. Political tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors still dominate their relations, resulting in minimum cultural exchanges.
“This collaborative project represents a significant step forward in fostering cultural exchange and artistic partnerships between the two countries," Mirza said. "It is a testament to the power of art to transcend political boundaries and bring people together."
The film's director Ammar Aziz said the anthology comprises seven "unique short films" that each chronologically offer distinct perspectives on the consequences of the subcontinent's partition. The short animated film is an adaptation of stories from the critically acclaimed book, 'The Other in the Mirror' which was edited by Mirza and published by India's Yoda Press and Pakistan's Folio Books.
Acclaimed authors from India and Pakistan such as Gulzar, Dr. Anirudh Kala, Asghar Wajahat, Saeed Ahmed and Naeem Baig have penned the short stories in the book.
"The Lasting August serves as a poignant reminder of the traumatic events surrounding the Partition which saw the division of British India into two independent nations," Aziz told Arab News. "And the mass migration of millions of people, leading to immense suffering, loss, and communal strife."
Aziz said the repercussions of the partition "continue to reverberate through generations, and the anthology aims to explore these long-lasting impacts."
"The thematically interconnected stories, each brought to life through hand-drawn animation, weave together narratives from both sides of the border, celebrating the shared history and diverse cultures from the two nuclear-armed neighbors," he added.
Aziz said The Other in the Mirror has received critical acclaim for the emotional depth that its stories offer, adding that the book has been endorsed by acclaimed authors Ayesha Jalal and Nandita Das.
"This film is primarily a literary visual initiative. We have been more concerned with capturing the essence, the soul, of the short stories," Aziz explained. "The visuals are of course carefully crafted and the animation is all traditional, frame-by-frame. Our entire process has rather been indigenously organic."
Mirza lamented how cross-border cultural exchanges between the South Asian neighbors suffer disruptions due to political tensions. She said strict visa regulations made it difficult for her to travel to India for literary events when The Other in the Mirror was published last year.
The Pakistani author said she connected with a group of Gandhians—a name given to people who are influenced by the philosophy of India's founding father Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi—on a peace walk from Lahore to Delhi who gave her a few copies of her books.
"Cultural diplomacy has traditionally served as a bridge between the two nations, fostering understanding and creating people-to-people connections," Mirza said. "Therefore, it is essential to continue promoting this approach to counter the rising hateful narrative on both sides."
