ISLAMABAD: The film Shajar, which explores the struggle of a young boy trying to remain committed to his dreams in a chaotic material world where finding a sense of self can itself become a struggle, was screened at The Black Hole on Friday.

Directed by independent filmmaker Ashir Shehzad, the film shines a light on questions of identity, child labour, deforestation and existentialism.

Speaking about the film, Shehzad said Shajar was based on his personal story and an attempt to explore subjects that are rarely addressed through experimental filmmaking in Pakistan. “It is about several things, including child labour and existentialism,” he said.

The film takes its central idea from Allama Iqbal’s verse, “Paivasta Reh Shajar Se Umeedi Bahaar Rakh” (remain attached to the tree and keep hope for spring), while the film’s dialogue is in Saraiki. Shehzad said the film was also inspired by the Swedish short film World of Glory.

The film was shot in Kallur Kot in Bhakkar. It was made independently with a limited budget. The cast comprised non-actors, as the young boy Mohammad Awais was the protagonist of the film, including people who had never appeared before a camera.

The film screening was followed by a panel discussion. On the panel, Jamil Iqbal, who served as the director of photography, described working on the film as a rewarding experience.

He said limitations faced by independent filmmakers could also encourage them to approach stories and images differently. “With this film, we tried to stay close to the characters and let the visual language emerge naturally rather than forcing it into a conventional cinematic structure,” Mr Iqbal said.

Journalist Hunain Ameen on the panel viewed the film as a reflection of the growing disconnect between people and the increasingly curated identities presented online.

“Shajar, to me, captures the inner feelings of an individual who experiences insufferable invisibility in a world that feeds on witnessing all things pretentious,” he said.

The director of Shajar, Ashir Shehzad, also talked about the need for greater experimentation in Pakistani cinema. He said experimental filmmaking had existed in Pakistan, citing filmmakers such as Jamil Dehalvi, but mainstream commercial approaches had increasingly dominated the industry.

“Film is connected to its culture, but at times films have been made only with a mainstream and commercial approach that does not represent the culture at all. As a result, the stories become hollow, and the films fail to stand out,” he said.

He said experimental and art-house films had long been part of their cinematic traditions and had developed their own audiences in countries such as Iran and France.

He argued that filmmakers in South Asia often became constrained by budgets because they approached filmmaking through conventional methods.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2026