Global InformationList of Pakistani submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film information
Pakistan submitted its first film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film[nb 1] in 1959, three years after the incorporation of the category.[3] and submit second time in 1963. The award is given annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue.[4] The "Best Foreign Language Film" category was not created until 1956; however, between 1947 and 1955, the Academy presented a non-competitive Honorary Award for the best foreign language films released in the United States.[5]
After the submission of first two films, there was no any submission for fifty years because of the sudden collapse of Pakistani cinema.[6] The growth of Pakistani cinema began from 1947 to 1958 and went through the golden age of films between 1959 and 1977, where good productions were uplifted by many directors, producers and writers. In 1977 the county's political condition became critical due to the overthrowing of the government of Zulifiqar Ali Bhutto by Zia-ul-Haq who bring Sharization in Pakistan.[7] Since then, the Pakistan film industry went through many obstacles and was unable to overcome the consequences, good productions in industry were stopped and Urdu films were merely reached to the cinema. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics there were at least 700 cinemas operating in the country but the number had declined to less than 170 by 2005.[6]
In 2007, Geo Films took the initiative with concerted efforts for revival of cinema in Pakistan. In 2007, Geo Films released Shoaib Mansoor's Khuda Kay Liye, which became the fresh breath of energy for Pakistan film industry. This single initiative gave confidence to investors and slowly, more multiplexes were built in Pakistan. In 2011, Geo Films further upped its efforts with the launch of Bol. Bol quickly became the highest box office grosser of Pakistan, a record that was held by any other film until the launch in 2013 of the Indian film Dhoom 3, which was distributed by Geo Films in Pakistan. Even though Khuda Kay Liye and Bol were box office hits and critically acclaimed, they couldn't be submitted as Pakistan's entry to Oscar due to the non-functioning Pakistani Academy Selection Committee.
In 2013, Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was appointed by Pakistani Academy Selection Committee as its chairman to choose one film among those released that year to be submitted as Pakistan's Official entry to Oscars for a nomination for "Best Foreign Language Film" the following year.[8][9] The chosen films, along with their English subtitles, are sent to the Academy, where they are screened for the jury. Before 2013, as no committee was formed, films were sent by directors by themselves. The 1958 Urdu film Jago Hua Savera was Pakistan's first submission, but the film was not selected from the selection process to shortlist and to final five nominations. In 1963 second film Ghunghat also failed to compete in selection process. Since then, no such film was submitted which met the criteria until 2013's Zinda Bhaag which became the first film that was sent for 86th Academy Awards, after the very long gap of submission than any other country.[10]
- ^ "Academy announces rules for 92nd Oscars". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "Academy Announces Rule Changes For 92nd Oscars". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
- ^ "History of the Academy Awards – Page 2". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 6 April 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
- ^ "Rule Thirteen: Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 22 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ^ "History of the Academy Awards – Page 1". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 13 April 2008. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Deteriorating Cinema of Pakistan". Diplomatic circle. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ Jones, Owen Bennett (2002). Pakistan : eye of the storm. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. pp. 16–7. ISBN 9780300097603.
... Zia rewarded the only political party to offer him consistent support, Jamaat-e-Islami. Tens of thousands of Jamaat activists and sympathisers were given jobs in the judiciary, the civil service and other state institutions. These appointments meant Zia's Islamic agenda lived on long after he died.
- ^ "Sharmeen selected by PASC to its chairman, to seek the oscars after fifty years". NewsWeekPakistan. 19 December 2014. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ^ "Call For Oscar Submission For Pakistani Filmmakers by PASC". Media Poondi. 3 August 2013. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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