The Day Shall Dawn / Jago Hua Savera Series: 46th New York Film Festival [Sept. 26 – Oct. 12, 2008] Director: A.J. Kardar, Country: Pakistan, Release: 1959, Runtime: 87
We’re delighted to include in this year’s festival this little-known masterwork from Pakistan on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. In 1958, a group of film enthusiasts inspired by the example of Satyajit Ray in India banded together to make what they hoped would be Pakistan’s first experiment with realist cinema.
With cinematographer Walter Lassally, a key figure in Britain’s Free Cinema movement, handling the camera, director and screenwriter A.J. Kardar told the story of a family of fishermen working along the Padma River in what was East Pakistan. They attempt to break out of a vicious cycle of exploitation by acquiring their own boat. The actions of the characters never feel forced but appear to flow out of the natural rhythms of everyday life.
The Day Shall Dawn was awarded a gold medal at the Moscow Film Festival and received several glowing reviews by international critics. Yet it was soon almost completely forgotten, as Pakistani cinema headed into another, very different direction. Special thanks to Mr. Anjum Taseer for making this screening possible.
