In an era ruled by long, high-budget blockbusters and binge-worthy series, the Gandhara Independent Film Festival (GIFF) 2025 served as a refreshing reminder that sometimes, the most powerful stories come in the smallest packages.
Held from October 17–19 at Karachi’s National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) and continuing online until November 2, this year’s edition focused heavily on short films — and by the end of it, there was no doubt: short films still hit the hardest.
A Celebration of Short Stories and Big Feelings
From deeply personal dramas to daring experimental pieces, GIFF’s selection of shorts showcased the emotional range filmmakers can achieve in just a few minutes.
Titles like Mother (Nai) by Spain’s Tito Refoxo, A Better Place by Pakistan’s Ali Sohail Jaura, and Karmash by Aleem Bukhari captured universal themes — loss, love, displacement, and self-discovery — with sharp focus and emotional precision.
Each film was short, yes, but not small. Every moment counted.
As one festival-goer put it:
“It’s amazing how a 10-minute film can make you feel more than a 2-hour movie.”
Why Short Films Still Matter
Short films are often underestimated — seen as warm-ups for “real” features — but GIFF’s lineup proved otherwise.
These films reminded everyone why brevity can be the biggest strength of storytelling. When you only have 10 to 20 minutes, there’s no room for fluff.
Every scene, every line, every glance matters.
Here’s why short films continue to resonate:
-
They cut straight to emotion — no filler, no delay.
-
They encourage creative risk, from nonlinear narratives to visual experimentation.
-
They’re accessible — easier to share, screen, and distribute globally, especially in a hybrid festival format like GIFF’s.
In short (pun intended), they leave impact without overstaying their welcome.
Global Stories, Local Voices
While GIFF is rooted in Pakistan, its heart beats globally. This year’s festival featured films from Asia, Europe, North America, and the Middle East, offering a rich blend of cultures and perspectives.
For Pakistani filmmakers, it was a powerful stage — a space to tell their own stories with authenticity and confidence. Films like A Better Place and Karmash showed that Pakistan’s short-film scene is evolving fast, with directors blending local themes and global sensibilities.
The Heart of Independent Cinema
The Gandhara Independent Film Festival isn’t about glitz or red carpets. It’s about giving filmmakers — especially emerging ones — a platform to be seen, to be heard, and to move people.
Whether it’s a 12-minute drama shot on a shoestring budget or an animated piece about childhood dreams, the festival reaffirmed that you don’t need a big budget to tell a big story.
As one of the organizers shared during the closing panel:
“Short films are pure cinema — emotion stripped to its essence.”
What GIFF 2025 Reminded Us
At its core, the festival wasn’t just about screening films — it was about rediscovering why we fall in love with storytelling in the first place.
Because in just a few minutes, a great short can make you laugh, cry, think — and sometimes, all at once.
And maybe that’s the real magic of the Gandhara Independent Film Festival: proving that cinema’s biggest emotions don’t need the longest running time.
