Swedish filmmaker Alexe Landgren put a video message comparing Sweden to Pakistan. The message was pertinent to her win at the Women’s International Film Festival (WIFF) in Islamabad.
Alexe took home the prize for her short film ‘Till the Sun Comes in the Sky’. The short film was about a four-year-old boy playing with dolls, who played out the scenes of his parents’ relationship and how they fight.
Alexe Landgren was not present for the festival but addressed the crowd via a video message after her win.
She highlighted how despite the fact her country is among the top ranking countries for women, they still face struggles similar to the rest of the world.
“I’m especially glad because it is a feminist film festival. I live in Sweden, which is one of the top five countries on the list of equality even though Sweden is not equal. We still have rape and violence against women, women are paid less, they are unrepresented in media and have a hard time reaching top positions in society.”
‘Pakistan is Like Sweden from a Couple of Centuries Ago’
She then went on to compare Pakistan to Sweden, saying that Pakistan was like ‘Sweden a couple of hundred years ago’.
“On the same list, Pakistan is in the bottom three. Perhaps it can be compared to Sweden a couple of hundred years ago. It’s not an easy struggle but it is necessary. Everyone will gain from not suppressing half our population.”
Another Winning Entry at WIFF
Alexe wasn’t the only Swede that made fans at the WIFF. Another film-maker Amanda Kernell’s film ‘Sami Blood’ was screened on International Women’s day prior to the screening of the short films.
Join us tomorrow evening at PNCA Islmabad at 18:00 for the screening of “SAMI BLOOD” a movie made by a Woman Director from #Sweden at Women International Film Festival.@EUPakistan @LetsHearWomen #InternationalWomenDay @LetsHearWomen #InternationalWomenDay #WIFF19 #IWD2019 pic.twitter.com/d5ZM1CO79M
— Sweden in Pakistan (@SwedeninPK) March 7, 2019
About WIFF 2019
WIFF is organized by Madeeha Raza every year. It is usually hosted at the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA).
WIFF organizer Madeeha Raza said that “one of the main focuses of the festival is to shift the narrative pertaining to women in order to combat gender inequality.”
She mentioned that since the traditional gender roles ‘defined by the social-historical context’ of societies are regurgitated in all media, its difficult to combat the culture of gender bias.
WIFF always has a women-oriented theme from domestic abuse to gender parity. This year the festival got over 1000 entries from Pakistan, Iran, India, Spain, Italy, France, and even the United States.
The festival was organized in collaboration with the European Union.
