The road trip thriller Dukhtar won the awards for ‘Best Director’ and ‘Audience Award for Best Feature’ at the 11th South Asian Film Festival (SAIFF) held in New York City.
Nabeel Qureshi’s comedy thriller Na Maloom Afraad which has been receiving rave reviews was also nominated and screened on the closing of the festival.
Dukhtar has also been selected by the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee to be submitted for Oscar consideration in the ‘Foreign Language Film Award’ category at the 87th Academy Awards.
The festival showcases films from South Asia (i.e. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal) and also from within the Indian diaspora.SAIFF is the largest film premiere destination for South Asian/Indian filmmakers in the United States
In a departure from traditional film fare, Dukhtar highlights the issue of child marriage through the setup of a road-trip thriller that explores the intense drama of a mother’s frenzied search for a new life for her daughter with the help of an ex-Mujahid truck driver.
