Everyone loves a good real-life story about friendship, life struggles and chasing dreams. Director Saba Karim Khan’s Concrete Dreams: Some Roads Lead Home is one such tale that deserves to be seen. Her award-winning documentary about two young boys finding each other on the streets of Karachi, striking an unpredictable friendship and going to become football champions is already making waves on social media.
Concrete Dreams follows the life of Owais Ali, a 10-year-old from Karachi and his friend Salman, who form a friendship based on their love of football. While the sport of football has not been our nation’s strength, these two boys prove that there is no shortage of talent.
Did you know these two boys were part of the Pakistani street football side that finished in third place at the 2014 Street Child World Cup in Rio, Brazil? Amazing right?
But the film is not just about Pakistan’s international level success in football, it is about Owais and Salman’s journey from the streets of Karachi to Rio. And how these two sparked the “I am Somebody” movement that impacted the lives of over 1.5 million Pakistani children who are living on the streets.
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According to the director of Concrete Dreams, Saba Karim Khan, the inspiration behind the documentary came while she was doing research about the struggles of street kids in Pakistan, looking for a compelling and ‘eye-opening’ story that would get people to notice about the country’s situation about the youth.
“During the research I stumbled upon an astonishing, eye-opening story about Pakistan’s street child footballers,” Khan says. “It took me by surprise, not least of all because it was antithetical to the cynical narrative we have come to associate with Pakistan and street children.”
The UN estimates over 1.5 million children living on the streets, trying to survive and escape poverty, substance abuse, and sexual harassment – and Owais was among them.
Saba Khan’s hard-hitting and inspiring documentary is about Owais and Salman’s courage, hope and resilience.
“They were reclaiming ownership of their lives through football and I was fascinated to witness such unassailable spirit.”
Saba is hopeful for a digital release once the film festival circuits are complete for the documentary. Be sure to check it out!
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