Featured image for THIS STAINED DAWN (Dagh Dagh Ujala
Featured image for THIS STAINED DAWN (Dagh Dagh Ujala
 
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This Stained Dawn

by Annam Abbas
Karachi’s feminists organise a woman’s march, facing Pakistan’s state, media and radical religious right.
2021  ·  1h29m  ·  Canada, Pakistan
English, Urdu
English, Urdu subs
About the Film

Karachi’s feminists organise a woman’s march, coming up against Pakistan’s radical religious right as “my body, my choice” becomes a controversial slogan that holds the country’s imagination in its grip. Filmmaker Anam Abbas follows the march’s organisers as they negotiate a deeply surveilled, paranoia-inducing, and often physically violent space in the hopes of spurring a revolution. A philosophical work, This Stained Dawn is not just about the Aurat March, but about the act of political organising itself.

Detailing the preparation of the multi-city Aurat March (Women’s March) in Pakistan, This Stained Dawn tells the story of a feminist movement asserting itself in the country’s urban spaces through the eyes of the march’s organisers. Just a few weeks before the start of the pandemic, 10,000 protesters gathered in Karachi. Filmmaker Anam Abbas follows the organisers of the march as they negotiate a deeply surveilled, paranoia-inducing, and often physically violent space in the hopes of spurring a revolution. The film’s approach is, suitably, a polyphonic one. Observational footage of the event’s planning and orchestration mixes with animation, and archive, tracing a history of the state suppression of women’s resistance in Pakistan and illuminating the urgency of the unfolding struggle of today, where “my body, my choice” becomes a controversial slogan that holds the country’s imagination in its grip. What emerges is a philosophical work, not just about the Aurat March, but about the act of political organising itself.

Cinema Politica is the proud distributor of This Stained Dawn. Visit our distribution catalog to learn more about the licensing options.
Upcoming Screenings

Stay tuned for upcoming screenings!

Festivals and Awards
2023
Aube Film Festival, Official Selection
2023
South Asian Film Festival of Montreal , Official Selection
2022
PAME, Official Selection
2022
Seattle South Asian Film Festival, Official Selection
2022
NorthwestFest International Documentary Festival, Official Selection
2022
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Official Selection
2022
Film Southasia, Official Selection
2022
Women's Voices Now, Official Selection | Tom Lantos Best Human Rights Documentary Award
2022
Victoria Film Festival, Official Selection
2022
Human Rights Watch San Diego, Official Selection
2022
Dhaka International Film Festival, Official Selection
2021
Which Human Rights? Film Festival, Official Selection
2021
Screening Rights Film Festival, Official Selection
2021
Dharamshala International Film Festival, Official Selection
2021
Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, Official Selection | Truth to Power Award
2021
Yamagata International Film Festival, Official Selection | New Asian Currents Nominee
2021
Sheffield International Documentary Film Festival , Official Selection | International Competition Nominee
Credits
Director and Producer
Anam Abbas
Editing
Omar Majeed
Animation
Aziza Ahmed
Original Score
Rahema Zaheer
Vocals
Aliya Rasheed
Cinematography
Anam Abbas
Additional Cinematography
Haya Fatima Iqbal, Gul Nayani, Mahnoor Mahar, Tazeen Bari, Warda Adil Shah, Sadia Khatri, Hadi Khatri, Manal Khan
Narration
Kulsoom Aftab
Assistant Editor
Anam Abbas
Additional Story Editor
Asmaa Malik
Additional Sound
Zoha Hussain
Archive Research
Warda Adil Shah, Azee
Post Production Services
Sim
Online Editor
Darren Hinchy
Colourist
Arlene Moelker
Finishing Producer
Mateusz Sklarzyk
Dialogue Editor
Kathy Choi
Sfx Editor
Chris King
Re-Recording Mixer
Martin Lee
Assistant Re-Recording Mixer
Mike Kennedy
Project Coordinator
Louise Finn
Head Of Operations
Alex Aslund
General Manager
Peter Gibson
Voice Over Recording Studio
The Circuit Live
Aliya Rasheed Vocals Recordings
Rakae Jamil
Film Related
Sheffield-Q&A-thumbnail-1
This Stained Dawn Q&A - Sheffield DocFest
Q&A - THIS STAINED DAWN by Anam Abbas
Dagh Dagh Ujala (This Stained Dawn) - An Interview with Filmmaker Anam Abbas
Other Cinemas Q&A thumbnail - THIS STAINED DAWN by Anam Abbas
'This Stained Dawn' post-screening discussion between director, Anam Abbas, and protagonist Laila Raza.
About the Director

Annam Abbas

Anam Abbas
Anam Abbas

Anam Abbas is a Pakistan based Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker. She runs Other Memory Media. As a producer and director of photography, her first feature SHOWGIRLS OF PAKISTAN, premiered in the 2020 IDFA Competition for First Appearance and was released globally on VICE in 2021. THIS STAINED DAWN (DAGH DAGH UJALA) is her award winning debut feature documentary as a director. It premiered in the International Competition section at the 2021 Sheffield International Documentary Festival.

Her first fiction feature IN FLAMES, directed by Zarrar Kahn, premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. Anam is an alumna of 2017 Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors Hub, 2018 Berlinale Talents, 2019 Film Independent Global Media Makers, 2020 Berlinale Talents Project Market Fellow, and 2020 Cannes Producer’s Network. Anam is also one of the founding members of the Documentary Association of Pakistan (DAP).

 
Other films by Annam Abbas

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