Jemima Khan (“What’s Love Got to Do with It?”) and Jaime Ray Newman (“Dopesick”) have stepped up to the Academy Award-qualified Seemab Gul short “Sandstorm” as executive producers.
The coming-of-age story, centered on a Pakistani schoolgirl named Zara, “Sandstorm” navigates the “challenging terrain of online dating in a conservative Muslim community”, according to the logical form as well as questions “the embodiment of the female body and its relationship to honor Pakistani culture”.
In short, Zara sends her virtual boyfriend a “sensual dance video” which he then uses to blackmail her. The summary reads: “Caught between his manipulative behavior and the desire to experience love on her own terms, Zara searches for the strength to reject the boundaries of patriarchal society.”
The first prizes that won shorts at the Rhode Island and Holly Shorts Film Festivals.
The film was written, directed and co-produced by Jules, a Pakistani artist and filmmaker based in London who holds a BFA and an MA in Filmmaking from the London Film School. Produced by Abed Aziz Merchant with cinematography by Alberto Palaz.
Newman won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2019 alongside her husband, Jay Native, for Skin. Khan’s long debut, “What does love have to do with that?” It premiered at TIFF last month. She also produced an executive documentary, We Steal Secrets: The WikiLeaks Story.
“Simap Ghoul has created a beautiful, moving piece of art that, in just 20 minutes, propels you into the exact life of what young women around the world must endure in restrictive societies,” Newman said. “As a mother of two young daughters, I know how fortunate they are to live in a country that allows them freedom of speech, but I also know how easy it is to snatch those rights away. ‘Sandstorm’ is a calm and poignant battle cry, a movie that must be watched all over the world and I am honored to be on board.”
“Malagat” by Simap Gul (“Sandstorm”) brilliantly explores themes that are specific to conservative cultures like Pakistan but are also universally relevant and relevant to all women – the embodiment of the female body and the vulnerability of young women online,” Khan said. Having lived in Pakistan for a decade, and with two half-Pakistani sons, I am delighted to support such a powerful film from one of the country’s most talented young directors.”
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