The Gandhara Independent Film Festival (GIFF) Edition 7’s second day welcomed the crowd of independent filmmakers and cinephiles at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) with official selections and special presentations of five international and five Pakistani short films.
The day opened with an Indonesian short film Under the Whether by Putri Sarah Amelia on the theme of menopause, followed by a Pakistani film The Send Off by Amina Imran starring Samya Mumtaz and Blender by Syed Nabil Hasan Rizvi. Octopus by George Dogaru from Romania and The Monster by Diego De Gracia from Panama and Spain were intriguing short films. Raat Jaagay by Mahnoor Nawab, an art indie film from France Petticoats by Gaelle Graton and My Plastic Mother by Amar Haikal truly moved the audience. Attock by Awais Gohar and W.R.A.P. – We Really Are Pakistan! by Saba Karim Khan were the closing short fiction film and documentary. Q/As focused on the education of young independent filmmakers and the art of storytelling for indie cinema.
This year GIFF received around six thousand films from all over the world including Pakistan, out of which, sixty films (seven foreign-language feature films, twenty-five foreign language shorts films and twenty-eight Pakistani short films) were selected for the digital edition, which streamed online at the ARY Plus OTT and GIFF’s website from September 18 till 30. There are twenty-eight selected independent films screening at NAPA for the on-ground edition 7; nineteen amongst them are foreign-language short films and nine of them are Pakistani independent films.
The festival will continue on Sunday, the third and and final day with an exclusive official lineup of international and Pakistani films. This year GIFF’s esteemed sponsors are UBL, Candi Biscuit, Candyland, Olper’s Diary Tea Creamer and Vatika. Official Industry Partners are Epic Pictures, Sharp Image, Hot Water Bottle Films, Bionic Films, Tallman Films, Y Productions and What’s Next. Karachi Film School (KFS) is the official Educational Partner, NAPA is the Venue Partner, Talking Point is the PR Partner, See Prime is the Strategic Partner and ARY Plus OTT is the official Streaming Partner for GIFF 2026.
About Gandhara Independent Film Festival (GIFF)
Founded by CIRQUE FILMS in 2020, GIFF is a standalone hybrid platform for independent filmmaking, creative expression, voicing your thoughts along with immersive entertainment. GIFF will support emerging and established voices, discover award-winning filmmakers, curate innovative and interactive experiences, and introduce new ideas through premieres, exhibitions and panel discussions.