25 September, 2026 (Ghufran): Pakistani filmmaker Sarmad Khoosat’s film Lali will be screened on the opening night of the Tasveer Film Festival in Seattle on October 15. The film, which previously premiered in Berlin and was screened at film festivals in Washington DC and London, is among the Pakistani productions selected for this year’s festival. The Tasveer Film Festival features 136 titles, including 21 feature films, and is recognised as a South Asian film festival where winning films can qualify for Oscar consideration. Lali will be screened at 6pm local time at the Tasveer Film Centre, following a red carpet event, while the cast and crew will participate in a post-screening audience session. The festival will also host a gala dinner featuring live music and a DJ. The film stars Mamya Shajaffar as Zeba, a young woman who is labelled a “cursed bride” after three of her former suitors die under mysterious circumstances. The film explores fear, shame and violence within intimate relationships. The cast also includes Rasti Farooq and Meher Bano, while the film’s score has been composed by Abdullah Siddiqui. Pakistan will also be represented at the festival by Habiba Nousheen’s documentary The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony and five short films: Farqalit Gharshin’s Tsrak, Kamran Faiq’s The Last Glance, Basir Ahmed’s Khazana, Ali Mehdi’s Shireen and Ravia Rasool’s Silence on Set. Pakistan has previously featured prominently at the Tasveer Film Festival, with Wakhri opening the 2024 edition, while Laal Kabootar won the festival’s Archana Soy Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film in 2019.