Featured image for THIS STAINED DAWN (Dagh Dagh Ujala
Featured image for THIS STAINED DAWN (Dagh Dagh Ujala
 

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
2022
Women's Voices Now, Tom Lantos Best Human Rights Documentary Award
2021
Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival, Truth to Power Award
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
Anam Abbas

Anam Abbas is a Pakistan based Pakistani/Canadian filmmaker. She runs Other Memory Media.

As a producer and DOP her first feature Showgirls of Pakistan, premiered in the First appearance
competition” at IDFA 2020 and was released globally by VICE in Feb 2021.

Dagh Dagh Ujala (This Stained Dawn) is her award winning debut feature documentary as a director. It premiered in international Competition at the Sheffield Doc Fest 2021.

Her first fiction feature “In Flames”, Directed by Zarrar Kahn, will have it’s World Premiere at Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.

Anam is an alumni of Locarno Film Festival’s Open Doors Hub 2017, 2018 Berlinale Talents, 2019 Film Independant 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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