Umair Bilal's As Light As Air has been selected for the Locarno Film Festival/
This is Bilal's debut feature documentary.
Premiering at the upcoming 79th edition of the festival, the film is set in the historic Sufi town of Sehwan.
Pakistani filmmaker Umair Bilal's debut doc As Light as Air will screen at the upcoming Locarno Film Festival during the Semaine de la Critique (Critic’s Week) on August 11 and 12. It is one of just seven documentaries selected for the segment. Other titles include Gabin, Petrolheads and Only The Serpent Knows.
What Is As Light As Air About?
The film is set in Sehwan, the historic Sufi town in Sindh that is home to the shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, one of Pakistan’s most revered spiritual sites. The documentary probes the lives of the pilgrims, wanderers and spiritual seekers who travel to Sehwan carrying grief, longing and hope, lured by the promise of solace that the shrine and its rituals have offered for centuries.
At the heart of the film is the practice of dhamaal, the devotional dance performed at the shrine, which Bilal ascribes as central to Sehwan. Through the rhythm of the music, the movement of the devotees and the atmosphere of collective faith, the documentary reflects with intimacy and generous immersion on a deeply spiritual world few outside Pakistan would be privy to.
Aside from directing the project, Bilal is also the producer and a cinematographer. Konstantin Stell has also shot the film. “In a world that can feel increasingly suffocating, these spaces offer something close to sanctuary, a temporary release from the weight of everyday life,” Bilal emphasised. The last Pakistani film to premiere at Locarno was Hamza Bangash's 2018 short film, Dia. It also won the 2020 Locarno Shorts Weeks Award. In 2003, Sabiha Sumar won the Golden Leopard for Khamosh Pani.
The 79th Locarno Film Festival runs from August 5 to 15. Renowned American director James Gray will receive the festival's prestigious Career Leopard award.
