Bassam Tariq is one of the co-directors of These Birds Walk, a documentary that details the lives of runaway street children on the streets of Karachi and the Edhi Foundation, a humanitarian organisation that tries to help them.
During a showing at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival this week, audiences were visibly moved by the film’s inspirational story of hope under difficult circumstances.
The Pakistani-American filmmaker believes that his film, which took three years to shoot under sometimes-dangerous circumstances in Karachi, is important in painting a narrative of the country that doesn’t deal with just political instability and violence.
He explains why he chose these children as the subject of his piece.
“These kids are mostly runaways. The difference between them and orphans is that for orphans it’s clear cut. Their parents are dead,” he contends.
“But for runaways, it’s a choice. They chose to leave their home, which leads them to have this guilt that they carry with them. So throughout this film you see the kids trying to redeem themselves and ask for forgiveness from God for their actions.”
On top of this, they miss their families, even if they suffered domestic abuse at home. “You have this weird and interesting conflict and that’s what we ran with in the film,” he says.
As to the audience’s reaction to the film, Tariq says there was a vast range of emotions.
“It’s funny, some people think it’s an inspirational story of resilience. Other people have said they felt sad after watching it. Everyone’s got their own opinion, which is cool – that people have a reaction to it.”
Tariq says that what he took away most from his experience of filming was evidence of the strength of community in Pakistan.
“I was touched that people cared that much about people they just knew in passing. That love and respect for relationships is the best about Pakistan and it does offer hope for the country’s future,” he believes.
hberger@thenational.ae
Follow us @LifeNationalUAE
Follow us on Facebook for discussions, entertainment, reviews, wellness and news.
