After 15 years of work, filmmaker Umar Riaz and his team at Asna Pictures have completed their ambitious documentary on the life of one of Pakistan’s biggest names in theatre, film and television, the late Zia Mohyeddin. Now, he’s ready to take it abroad.
In a post on Instagram, Riaz said his film The Colour of My Heart (Rung Hai Dil Ka Mere Dil Ka) will have its international premiere at the 49th Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF) in New York City.
The director said he and his team could not have wished for a more special return of the work to New York, where it began as his film thesis in university well over a decade ago and where much of the post-production work had been completed.
The caption said the Pakistani team were thrilled to be able to celebrate their work with team members in New York and to give New Yorkers a “window into a vital part of [Pakistani] culture”.
The film, which follows Mohyeddin’s remarkable career and life between the UK and Pakistan, intertwines the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz into the story.
Presented by the late human rights activist Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra, the work is an ode to cultural giants and to the fallibility of a man whose influence on Pakistan’s cultural scene lives on through his work on stage and on screen.
The film began screening in Pakistani theatres on February 6, just a week shy of the third anniversary of Mohyeddin’s passing . After a limited cinema run, the filmmaker says he plans to bring the film back to Pakistani screens this autumn.
The AAIFF will run from July 30 to August 9, with The Colour of My Heart screening on the festival’s last day at 2pm local time. Tickets are available on the festival’s website.
