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Since 2000, Vision has been creating awareness through videos that inform, educate, and encourage social action. Our films have been screened and nominated for awards at international film festivals
Screened: San Francisco film festival, 2002 Vision's first video, Listen to my Voice was produced in 2001. Listen to My Voice is based on the Zenana (transgender) experience in Lahore. It provides a glimpse into the lives of the Zenana community in Lahore, their attitudes towards health, and how groups and individuals within the community are making a difference. The film is a study of the successes that invariably follow when the community gets involved in its own health and well-being. The result of Vision's early efforts, Listen to my Voice documents the processes used to involve Zenana communities, and encourage them to take charge of their identity and health issues. These early efforts blossomed into the Nayaab health Project, which is often referred to as a model for other community-run and maintained organizations. As per the request of the film's participants/subjects, this film has never been screened in Pakistan.
Screened: Himal International film festival, Nepal (2003) Nominated: Best film After the sun sets in Lahore, the massage boys emerge; their bottles clinking and beckoning clients. However, not all those who seek the masssage boys are looking for a massage. After Sunset illuminates the rarely-seen side of Lahore, that emerges when the light of the day has faded. Massage boys talk about their lives and their work. Faces in flickering firelight reveal a daily struggle for survival. Stories are abuse and betrayal are abundant, and victimization by the local law enforcement agents forms a part of the daily grind. After Sunset is a brief glimpse into the dynamics of a marginalized group, struggling to survive against great social odds and health challenges.
Love can assume many forms. It is a human ritual. It is an expresssion of faith and a feeling to revered. Zenanas in Pakistan worship and pray at different Sufi shrines, but the shrine of the Sufi Shah Hussain and his disciple Madhu Lal is the most beloved and revered place of worship for Zenana communities from all over Pakistan. Shah Hussain, like other Sufis, taught the value of tolerance and love. His words enthralled not only Muslims, but Hindus as well. And soon, he was revered and loved by both Muslim and Hindu communities. One of his disciples, Madhu Lal would become as famous as the Sufi himself, their names carved in an eternal homage to love. Zenanas have mixed feeling about love. As humans they cannot escape it. As 'males', they are reviled for their attachments to other men. Social attitudes towards the love of one 'man' for another result in guilt for many Zenanas. Consequently, they often neglect safe health practices. Using the timeless tale of love and devotion between master and disciple, 'Madhu the Mystic' glorifies emotional attachments using a well-known story; a tale every Zenana knows and reveres. Madhu the Mystic reaches out to diverse communities. By using beloved icons, 'Madhu the mystic' reaches out to Zenanas who neglect their health due to guilt associated with their feelings for men. The film reaches out to a broader audience, speaking of love within the mystical and emotional frameworks. Madhu the Mystic glorified the power of love. As foretold by Shah Hussain, Madhu's love for his master became so legendary that people now talk about them as if they were one person. Indeed, people refer to their shrine as the shrine of Madhu Lal Hussain.
Imagine a shipyard where sweltering heat and desert winds blast the resistance out of the sturdiest men. Imagine a settlement of laborers where weathered men share cramped quarters for months, work long hours, and face death on a daily basis. Picture a stretch of land pitted and scarred with the charred remains of metal, where fire beats down from the merciless sky, even as flames blast from welding torches. Now place children in this picture. 15, 16, even 14 year-olds, whose loss of childhood and innocence is apparent in their disillusioned eyes. Trafficked far from home, many of them know of no other option than to work the long hours day after day, face the death of their friends at the hands of the relentless sea and endless work, and feel the loss of a childhood they dare not think about, lest it stir painful memories. Trafficked! is an exploration of issues surrounding child labor and trafficking in Pakistan. It is the beginning of an effort to eradicate trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable children. Top
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