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

In the Press

Review

‘This Stained Dawn:’ How Director Anam Abbas Captured a Women’s March and the Broader Feminist Movement in Pakistan

Shadan LarkiAwards Daily

Review

Sheffield DocFest interview: This Stained Dawn by Anam Abbas

Geoffrey MacnabBusiness Doc Europe

Review

Documentary Review: This Stained Dawn (2021) by Anam Abbas

Panos KotzathanasisAsian Movie Pulse

Review

This Stained Dawn Tops Reel Asian Winners

Pat MullenPOV Magazine

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

About the Director

Annam 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