“When night falls, keep your children indoors, for the devils are out and about at this time. When an hour of the night goes by, you can let them go.”
Sahîh al-Bukhârî: (3280, 5623)
K. Pervaiz, who was a Featured FearMaker last year, has recently finished her debut feature film Maya through her production company Bad Wolf Films. The film was written and directed by Pervaiz, who also co-stars in the film alongside Madiha Hidayat and Ramsha Shaikh, two first time actors.
Synopsis:
K. Pervaiz’s debut feature film set in Pakistan, Maya, tells the tale of a young woman who makes a journey of self discovery through piecing together her fragmented childhood, gripped by demonic possession. Maya is plagued by nightmarish visions and faces her own psychological breakdown. Maya’s best friend Kalika helps her journey to the city to find the truth about Maya’s family and her childhood.
The film follows Maya, an orphaned girl raised by her friend Kalika’s family. When Maya mysteriously becomes sick, she begins hearing phone calls from her mother calling her home. Maya and Kalika eventually travel to find Maya’s long lost sister, and discovers the terrible truth about what happened to her family. Now she must battle an ancient Djinn, and try to save herself and her family.
Filmed entirely in Pakistan, this was a struggle to make. After racking up £2,000 to make Maya, Pervaiz set out to Pakistan to make her film. Battling exhausting temperatures reaching 40°C (~104°F) and a mostly first time cast and crew, Pervaiz managed to make a great film that not only tells a dark story, but gives an in depth, honest look at life in Pakistan. Between the phenomenal meals shown in the film, and the several candid shots of regular Pakistani life, Pervaiz made a point to show the parts of Pakistan usually missed by major media outlets. One scene actually takes the audience into an actual Mosque, in which cameras (and some cases women) are extremely prohibited. Pervaiz risked her life to make this film, and it shows in the honest and candid depictions of Pakistani life.
There is no current news of Maya being released, making a feature film is a long battle which Pervaiz has championed. Making a feature film is hard enough, but making one in a foreign country in which women are not seen as equals can be beyond challenging. That said, Pervaiz’s family comes from Pakistan, and it was important for her to tell her story in this light, and for that we salute you K.
We will do our best to keep you up to date as far as festivals and screenings of Maya but until then, enjoy the trailer and poster below.
