Song of Lahore
Description
Pakistan’s Sachel Studios was founded in 2004 in an attempt to preserve and revive centuries-old musical traditions that faced extinction after the imposition of Sharia law in the ‘70s and more current Taliban pressure discouraging musical performance. Many of its members are the children of master musicians from a former era of independence, when culture was celebrated and Lahore was a mecca for musicians and artists. To stay relevant, the group begins to experiment with non-traditional musical forms. When a video of the group’s version of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” performed on traditional Pakistani instruments goes viral online, they get a chance to gain the kind of acclaim that Lahore’s musicians once enjoyed. With an empathetic eye, Andy Schocken and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s film follows the group as they try to navigate the internal and external pressures that come with a planned trip to New York to perform with Wynton Marsalis at Jazz at Lincoln Center, resulting in an entertaining and inspiring look at the enduring value of music.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an Academy- and Emmy Award–winning documentary filmmaker whose filmography includes Saving Face, Transgenders: Pakistan’s Open Secret and Pakistan’s Taliban Generation. In 2012, Obaid-Chinoy was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In discussing Songs of Lahore, she stated, “We just wanted to showcase the voices of this music.”
Andy Schocken is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer based in New York. He is a graduate of the documentary film program at Stanford University. His camera credits include Beyond the Brick: A Lego Brickumentary, First Position, Fight Church and Gerhard Richter Painting. Song of Lahore is his directorial debut.
Film Details
Language English, Punjabi, Urdu
Year 2015
Runtime 82
Country USA/Pakistan
Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andy Schocken
Producer Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andy Schocken
Editor Flavia de Souza
Cinematographer Asad Faruqi
Print Source Broad Green Pictures