Pakistani filmmakers are adorning international screens. Director Shehrezad Maher’s recent film The Curfew took stage at Venice Biennale on 4 September.

The film stars Sathya Sridharan, Balinder Johal, Sara Haider, Rajesh Bose, Chris Thorn and Salwa Khan. It is produced by Lindsay Blair Goeldner and Meetra Javed. Its cinematography has been done by Dustin Lane and production design by Ana Novacic. It is being distributed by Fae Pictures and Baby Daal Productions.

The 19-minute film is about Pakistani American Ayaan who cares for his frailing grandmother. As he does so, the two fight the silence of a language barrier and try to learn each other’s language. The film shows how histories and ghosts from a colonial past can affect the present.

Shehrezad Maher won the 2023 Islamic Scholarship Fund’s National Film Grant for The Curfew. She is a New York-based artist and filmmaker and her films have been screened at institutions and festivals such as Visions du Réel, RIDM, the LA Film Forum, Anthology Film Archives, UnionDocs, and Experiments in Cinema.

Her feature film script, Theory of Colors, was one of the three projects selected for the 2023 Hamptons Film Screenwriters Lab and received the Melissa Mathison Screenwriters Fund and the Cinestory Feature Retreat’s Hagan Hicks Underrepresented Women’s Voices Scholarship. 

The Curfew was the only Pakistani film that was screened at the Venice Film Festival this year. Previously, Saim Sadiq’s Darling screened and won Best Short Film at the Venice Film Festival in 2019.

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Pakistan’s biggest horror film Deemak has shattered records in Pakistani cinema by earning a massive Rs. 160 million in just 38 days.

Geo Films delivered this hit that captivated audiences and surprised critics alike.

“The film’s scary moments, gripping plot, and emotional characters kept the audience hooked in cinemas,” said a Geo Films spokesperson.

With powerful performances by Faysal Quraishi, Sonya Hussyn, Samina Pirzada, Javed Sheikh, and Bushra Ansari, Deemak has made horror a commercially successful genre in Pakistani cinema.

“Long queues of moviegoers in cinemas across the country prove that Pakistani audiences now fully embrace quality and unique content,” the spokesperson added.

Syed Murad Ali wrote the film, while Rafay Rashdi and Ayesha Muzaffar directed it.

But Deemak goes beyond jump scares. It explores deep-rooted issues such as emotional trauma, generational neglect, domestic abuse, and the complex bond between women in a household—particularly the strained relationship between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. The haunting serves as a metaphor for how unspoken and unresolved pain can silently destroy families from within.

Geo Films continues to shape modern Pakistani cinema, having already produced major blockbusters like Khuda Ke Liye, Bol, Teefa in Trouble, The Legend of Maula Jatt, Donkey King, and Glass Worker.

Also Read: Geo Films ‘Deemak’ Becomes Pakistan’s Biggest Horror Blockbuster

Sardaar Ji 3 continues its global success, raking in impressive box office numbers despite not being released in India.

Starring Pakistani actress Hania Aamir and Indian Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh, the film earned approximately ?33.6 crore (PKR 109.87 crore) within just one week of its release. With only ?16.4 crore (PKR 53.63 crore) left to hit the ?50 crore (PKR 163.5 crore) milestone, the film is well on track to achieve it soon.

Due to ongoing political tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 Pahalgam attack, India banned the film’s release and blocked access to many Pakistani social media accounts. However, the ban hasn’t stopped the film’s rise internationally.

Audiences across the US, Canada, the UK, and Pakistan, along with Indian-origin viewers abroad, have praised the film. Analysts described its ?33.6 crore first-week earnings as a “huge number” for a Punjabi-language movie.

At its current pace, Sardaar Ji 3, made on a budget of ?35 crore (PKR 114.45 crore), has already become profitable. Trade experts suggest that if released in India, the film could have earned up to ?100 crore (PKR 327 crore) globally.

Directed by Amar Hundal and written by Dheeraj and Manila Rattan, the film features Diljit Dosanjh, Hania Aamir, Neeru Bajwa, and Jasmin Bajwa. It was released in theatres on 27 June 2025.

Also Read: Hania Aamir Joins Diljit in ‘Sardaar Ji 3’ — Film to Release Overseas Due to India-Pak Row