Democracy in Flames - MIPtv Cannes 2009
// Filed in: Production | Documentary
Democracy In Flames is a journey into the heart of Pakistan’s latest attempt at the democratic process, and provides a timeless historical snapshot at a turning point in world history. The film follows a fiery young ‘old school’ socialist PhD student from London, to his hometown of Lahore. Possessed with the grievances of a generation, Taimur Rehman is a modern day Che Guevara in one of the most volatile places in the world.
Democracy In Flames is a journey
into the heart of Pakistan’s latest attempt at the democratic
process, and provides a timeless historical snapshot at a turning
point in world history. The film follows a fiery young ‘old school’
socialist PhD student from London, to his hometown of Lahore.
Possessed with the grievances of a generation, Taimur Rehman is a
modern day Che Guevara in one of the most volatile places in the
world.
This observational documentary, filmed by director Taimur Khan, is a unique window into the murky world of Pakistani politics at a grass-roots level. Pakistan has never been seen like this before. In the course of filming there is an unexpected twist in the narrative. Taimur Rehman turns a famous political poem into a song which is a huge hit on YouTube. He is suddenly transformed into a ‘protest’ pop star playing to tens of thousands of fans. They are the hidden constituency in Pakistan that don’t fall into the clichaic ‘religious’ and pseudo ‘democratic’ models that usually pervade analysis in the media. Maybe in the future there will be more buzz words for Pakistan – poetry, films, music, and justice. The disturbing alternative will be ‘Talibanistan’.
View a trailer here
This observational documentary, filmed by director Taimur Khan, is a unique window into the murky world of Pakistani politics at a grass-roots level. Pakistan has never been seen like this before. In the course of filming there is an unexpected twist in the narrative. Taimur Rehman turns a famous political poem into a song which is a huge hit on YouTube. He is suddenly transformed into a ‘protest’ pop star playing to tens of thousands of fans. They are the hidden constituency in Pakistan that don’t fall into the clichaic ‘religious’ and pseudo ‘democratic’ models that usually pervade analysis in the media. Maybe in the future there will be more buzz words for Pakistan – poetry, films, music, and justice. The disturbing alternative will be ‘Talibanistan’.
View a trailer here