Matinee

Series/Themes: Middle Eastern & South Asian Sidebar

Genre: Documentaries

Accessibility: Subtitles

Film Year: 1958

Locations: East Pakistan

Film Length: 91 min.

Languages: Urdu

Subtitles: Subtitled

Director: AJ Kardar.

Featuring: Khan Ataur Rahman, Tripti Mitra, Kazi Khaliq, Zurain Rakshi, Maina Latif, Nasima Khan.

Restored with the help of the Nauman Taseer Foundation after being lost for decades, Day Shall Dawn delves into the primitive lifestyle of the Bengali people of Shaitnol, a remote village isolated from modern civilization. Free from the cross currents that invade life in towns and bustling cities, several fisherfolk aspire to own and possess a boat as a signifier of maintaining independence and prosperity. Originally out of circulation because of censure by the Pakistani government, Anjum Taseer resurrected the film in 2010 to showcase his father’s pioneering effort to highlight the undaunted, undefeated spirit of these Bengali fishermen. Introduction by Mehr Farooqi (UVA)

Supported by the Institute for Humanities and Global Cultures and the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures