Ghost School
When her school in rural Pakistan shuts down, Rabia is told it’s the work of a spirit. Undeterred, she embarks on an adventure to investigate the tales the adults tell her.
Description
For many kids, the idea of never having to go to school again may seem like a dream come true, but 10-year-old Rabia (Nazualiya Arsalan) loves learning. Despite growing up in rural Pakistan, where educating girls is not much of a priority, the child eagerly attends to feed her endless curiosity. But then her school shuts down suddenly, supposedly because the teacher became possessed by an evil spirit. Rabia is not convinced and when her mother lacks clear answers, the determined girl sets out to uncover the truth. Undeterred by eerie occurrences, she finds a web of patriarchy, bureaucracy, and corruption responsible for the closure not just of her school but of others like it. Wrapped in a children’s fable, Ghost School paints a bleak picture of a society that ignores its daughters, leavened by Rabia’s unrelenting determination that shines through like a beacon. —Bedatri Choudhury
Biographies
Seemab Gul is a British Pakistani independent filmmaker whose work focuses on the outsider experience and contemporary politics. She makes her feature debut with Ghost School. Her short films include Price of Freedom (2013), Towards a Militant Conceptualism (2013), One Day in Whitechapel (2015), Metaphysiques (2015), Zahida (2018), and Sandstorm (2021).
