Shibli Faraz says filmmakers must be given creative liberty

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Shibli Faraz has said that filmmakers must have creative liberty to make films.

In an interview with Independent Urdu, the minister revealed that the government will launch the film policy in March next year under which they will officially give the status to Pakistani films as a film industry and will provide incentives to facilitate and assist filmmakers.

“Commercial films have their own needs and all the ingredients to make a commercial film should be allowed whereas art films should also be made and we should make films on our heroes. Why don’t we make films on national heroes?” questioned the minister.

He further said: “Filmmaking is creative work and we don’t want to be a hurdle in it so we are also working on strict censor policies. But one thing should be kept in mind: any content that can hurt religious and cultural sentiments should be avoided.”

Faraz also said the government is working towards having a single censorboard.

“After the 18th Amendment, unfortunately, there are two censor boards in the country – federal and provincial. We are trying to unify the censor boards so that filmmakers do not face difficulty in approvals. Governments in the past have made very complicated procedures and if any department has more technicalities than the convenience then organisations are not attracted towards it,” said the minister.

Meanwhile, last month in an exclusive interview with The Current, Senator Faisal Javed had shared that under the policy, filmmakers and cinema owners will be offered several incentives including access to locations. The government hopes to build a soft image of Pakistan through film and promote ‘Pakistaniat‘, which is why it also hopes to make cinemas affordable for the masses.

“We hope that are we are able to promote our country, tourism and rich culture and history through our films,” said Senator Javed.

The film policy was developed by former Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa.

Indeed it was a fantastic presentation @AsimSBajwa Welldone!! Great plan ahead.
insha'ALLAH our film will revive as we have
immense talent and we look forward to some great collaborations. Get ready producers, writers, actors and directors as together we promote Pakistan!!!! https://t.co/un6hOODbdy

— Faisal Javed Khan (@FaisalJavedKhan) September 19, 2020