Director’s Board

Director’s Intention:

Being a director of Attabad to Ajrak, my chief aim was to narrate a very emotional story with the help of no dialogue, no landscape, and no dramatic exposition. To a large degree, I am specifically interested in highlighting the natural beauty and the cultural richness of Pakistan, which is usually disregarded or simplified in the popular media. This movie gave me the opportunity to admire the beauty of the northern Pakistan as well as the cultural and social boundaries that silently confine the lives of people, particularly on issues of class, gender and how they express their feelings.

Narrative Approach:

The story of Attabad to Ajrak is purposely light and descriptive. The movie is based on the moments, rather than a traditional romantic plot being propelled by the events, which are glances, pauses, common spaces, and unspoken feelings. The plot progresses in a very slow and linear way giving the story emotional tension an opportunity to develop naturally. Such a reserved way of narration is an indication of the realities of most cultural relationships in Pakistan where feelings are felt but seldom expressed openly because of social constraints. Cultural emphasis and Social commentary. The movie is deeply embedded in the Pakistani culture and social reality. The niche cultural issues that I touch on through the interaction of Mehak and Adeel include things like class disparities, social stratification, emotional repression and parental authority. These problems are not brought out in form of confrontation or dialogue but have been quietly incorporated in the story especially in the way the father intervenes and the failure of the characters to express their feelings freely. Ajrak is a cultural representation that denotes identity, belonging and emotional attachment in strengthening the fact that culture can outwardly unite and imprison people.

Landscape as Storytelling:

The desire to bring to the fore the scenery of Pakistan as an emotional, rather than a visual, context, is one of my top creative disciplines. Attabad Mountains, the lake, and open fields are regarded as the continuations of the inner worlds of the characters. Its large scale and the distance it creates between the characters and their longing, as well as the abundance of landscape and beauty in contrast to the limitations put on the relationship between the characters. The wide framing and utilization of real locations helped me create the desired effect of letting the audience feel the silence, scale and the emotional heaviness that the environment has.

Camera Direction:

The camera is made to act as an observer and not a participant. Isolation and emotional distance are created by wide shots, and only important moments in the image are backed with close-ups to capture micro-expressions and vulnerability. There is low camera movement which is slow, which supports the reflective nature of the movie. The use of still shots makes the silence to persist and provokes the viewer to participate in a non-technical way than being pushed, as it would be done with technique.

Performance Direction:

Dances in Attabad to Ajrak are intended to be understated and internalised. I instructed the performers not to use exaggerated facial expressions or dramatic speech because I concentrated on the body language, eye contact, and hesitation. This realistic approach of acting forms the picture of the reality of the experience of emotions and their suppression in most of the Pakistani cultural contexts. This was to ensure that the characters are real, relatable and emotionally grounded.

Sound, Silence & Rhythm:

Sound design is essential in the development of the emotional content of the film. Background score is not given importance over ambient sounds like wind, water, footsteps, and folk music far away. The application of silence as a means of narration is not accidental, and emotional breathing and resonance are given room. The film is paced slowly and thoughtfully, which is reflected in the calmness of the landscape and the lack of emotions of the characters.

Overall Directorial Vision:

Attabad to Ajrak is a movie that is motivated by my interest in the Pakistani landscapes, the national identity, and the socially-based narratives. The purpose of my film was to make a film that felt true to life, emotionally sensitive and culturally sensitive, using the elements of poetic realism, little dialogue and symbolic imagery. The idea behind the director is based on the notion that great stories can be made without many sounds and effects, by landscapes, silence and the feelings that people cannot often open up about.