BEIJING: Collaboration in the film industry has the potential to elevate people-to-people cooperation and understanding between Beijing and Islamabad, which have already been consolidated by the joint projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), such as the recently completed Orange Line Metro in Lahore, a Beijing-based Pakistani analyst told CGTN Digital after two movies from her country made headlines in China this month.
On November 13, “Parwaaz Hai Junoon” became the first Pakistani movie to be commercially released in the Chinese mainland in over three decades; while Pakistani short film “Amity Along the Orange Line” was among the entries that were applauded at the Second Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) Short Video Competition award ceremony in Wuhan on November 20.
“I think movies are critical and vital. We’ve been talking about it for years. And this is definitely a historic moment. Parwaaz Hai Junoon and the Orange Line are both very timely and much-needed development,” Zoon Ahmed Khan, a research scholar at the Institute of Belt and Road Initiative, Tsinghua University, told CGTN in a video interaction via Zoom.
“One of the things that has happened since CPEC is that more Pakistanis are living in China, and many Chinese people are living in Pakistan. This is step one. But movies can really be that decisive turning point,” she said, emphasizing that there’s still a lot of scope for the Chinese and Pakistanis to learn about each other.
“People’s sentiments in both countries are extremely warm and reciprocal but at the same time there exists a lack of awareness about each other’s culture. You can love someone, you can trust someone, you can care for them, but you may not know a lot about them. I think the people-to-people linkages need to be further strengthened,” she explained, advocating for more exchanges of movies.
“Films are the most effective way to offer a true picture of what normal people go through; what their lives are; about their history, their preferences, food, etc. And this is a very important aspect,” she noted. “Unless we know each other well, we can’t work as effectively together either. And this is eventually the CPEC, and the BRI vision as well – to know each other better.”
Orange Line Metro: Encapsulating the BRI vision: “Amity Along the Orange Line” depicts the joy of Pakistani people at the completion of the Orange Line of Lahore Metro, a project built with Chinese partnership as part of the CPEC under BRI. The Orange Line, which went operational on October 25, is Pakistan’s first metro rail system. The movie also found a mention at the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s regular press conference on November 23.
“Lahore is the second largest city in the country. It’s the capital of Punjab, which is the biggest province of Pakistan, and for Lahore as well to benefit from the infrastructure projects under CPEC is critical, it’s vital for the overall development of the country,” Khan said, insisting that although the official figure puts the city’s population at around 11 million, it could be more in the range of 20 million due to the scale of commercial activities.
–The Daily Mail-CGTN
News exchange item
