Sat. April 15th @ 10:30AM
AFS Cinemas
Online April 28 - May 1
SWIPE
Pakistan I 14 mins I Drama I Animation I Horror I 2020
Urdu w/ English subtitles
Official Selection of Annecy International Animation Film Festival, AnimaFest Zagreb, and Bengalura International Film Festival '21
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A young boy addicted to iFatwa, an app that crowdsources religious death sentences, spends his days swiping on the lives of strangers.
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The second animated film created by the Lahore-based Puffball Studios, SWIPE is a confrontation of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, extrajudicial violence, and decreasing space for difference and expression.
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About the Artist
Arafat Mazhar is the Director of Engage Foundation, where 9 years of research came together in the seminal report, “The Untold Truth of Pakistan’s Blasphemy Laws,” recognized for its rigor by human rights groups and academics.
In 2019, Arafat launched the animation studio, Puffball. Puffball Studio’s debut film was the highly acclaimed Pakistani dystopian short, SHEHR-E-TABASSUM. The film takes inspiration from lessons learned on censorship while researching Pakistan’s notorious blasphemy laws to tell a poignant story about fear and freedom in in Pakistan today.
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SWIPE is the studio's second film and has screened at many of the world's leading festivals of animation.
Trailer
Credits
Writer/Director: Arafat Mazhar
Producer(s): Arafat Mazhar
Rasti Farooq
Momin Masood
Fatima Anwar
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Film Editor: Haseeb Rehman
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Sound Mix: Syed Umer Ahmed
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