Instep: What is Exit Frame about?

Uns Mufti: Jeez! What can I say about a movie that critics are calling 'magnificent', 'staggeringly honest' and 'one of the most important films ever made'? Yeah, I wish!
Exit Frame is all about the folly of man, or the folly of me, if you wish to get specific. I don't want to give too much away and am afraid that it might not have too much to give, but I'd like to think that the film works on many levels and can be a personal experience if watched with the right frame of mind. Like sound it relies hugely on the space it occupies.

Instep: Was it made specifically to be sent to Cannes?

Uns Mufti: It was specifically made for BigFoot Entertainment and the International Academy of Film and Television (IAFT) in the Philippines. We found out a bit later that a little short like this might be bigger than just that. The staff there suggested I send it to reputable festivals immediately, after seeing a rough cut.

Instep: Were there other Pakistanis involved in the making?

Uns Mufti: My crew were kids studying at the IAFT. One of them, a production assistant was a Pakistani student. My assistant director was Slovakian, my producer was a Filipino from Florida, my cameraman was Indonesian... no dearth of nationalities.

Instep: What is the process whereby you can send your film to Cannes? Is it complicated? Did you just do it and can any filmmaker?

Uns Mufti: Any filmmaker can send their film anywhere they like. The difference is a strange animal called 'A Production Report'. Basically if you kill a cockroach on set, someone must record it and put it in the report. I was lucky to have my producer, the 20 year old, Ryan Zarra and the wonderful assistant director Silvia Zdutova do up a detailed document, crucial for distribution abroad.

Instep: Would you yourself have bothered with making the detailed document without Ryan and Silvia doing it?

Uns Mufti: I think I'll hire them again. It's no biggie. Everyone especially commercial directors in Pakistan do make a production report in one way or another. Detailed paperwork will get you anywhere - if it precedes a visual depiction, even better.

Instep: What's the feedback you got from Cannes and why weren't you there?

Uns Mufti: I received a viewing report on a daily basis. People who saw the movie could leave me their names and email addresses. I received this information. Most of them are indie production houses just like Rola (Uns Mufti's production house). Networking is what is crucial at Cannes. Too bad I don't have 5000 US dollars to blow in a week, but I think I should wait till I have a feature length film. I'd rather be invited there, so I can tell Tarantino personally how much I think Death Proof blows.

Instep: If Quentin Tarantino asked you to assist him what would you say?

Uns Mufti: I would probably be arguing with him around day three. I would want changes in the script. I would want him to consider shooting a scene differently. He would tell me to shut the f**k up and hold the boom higher. Then I would ask him for a fat paycheck, and he'll throw me out. And it will all be my fault.

Instep: When will we in Pakistan get to see Exit Frame?

Uns Mufti: Pakistan will Exit Frame sometime in July 2009. I didn't word this right did I?

Instep: Tell us about you filming shin dig in the Philippines.
Uns Mufti: There is nothing to tell. I was supposed to be on a set with Hollywood pros working on a B movie. There was a set, there were professionals, there were floors, film, everything, only I was sitting in three hour long classes that were a complete waste of my time.
Exit Frame is all about that shindig. It was a painful experience mostly because I was surrounded by gorgeous models, smart kids on a beautiful island faced with the worst kind of business model ever - the absolute epitome of the horrors of capitalism. It was painful and heartbreaking to endure.

Instep: How heartbreaking are the horrors of capitalism in Pakistan for you?

Uns Mufti: Pakistan has other horrors that are way more horrible - the horrors of no bijli, no paani, no security; the horror of meeting the same people for the rest of your life. Capitalism is pretty low on my list. The horror of going back to my hometown only to find it ripped apart is way above it.

Instep: What B movie were you working on in the Philippines? Did you go to study at the IAFT?

Uns Mufti: I enrolled into a program they chose to call 'Crazy Filmmaker'. I sent them my CV, my show reel etc. I was told that BigFoot was currently shooting a feature called Tears from Afar and that I would be made part of the crew attached to industry pros flown in from Hollywood. When I arrived, everything was in order except I was in three hour long classes with kids talking about spirituality and Greek mythology, that were supposed to make us great screen writers.

The fact is that I don't want to really bitch out the IAFT because I don't regret a single minute I spent there. I made a few great friends, and I awarded myself the opportunity to exploit other nationalities in my very national way. I helped kids make their little films in return for a 15 plus crew for a little movie such as this. I'm not even mentioning the island - Philippines was beautiful.

Instep: You think classes are a waste of time. Would you recommend them at all?

Uns Mufti: I hate classes. Always have and always will. Others find them exhilarating.

Instep: Do you think Pakistani filmmakers need more exposure?

Uns Mufti: Pakistani filmmakers - where are they? Pakistani filmmakers need to help each other out for any kind of exposure; the handful that exist are empires on their own, they think.

Instep: Is being out there a breath of fresh after slogging it as a filmmaker in Pakistan?

Uns Mufti: Absolutely not. In Pakistan I was running around doing what I wanted with whoever I wanted to do it with. If I stay out here any longer, I'll be shooting wedding videos and porn. I'd rather come back and shoot Co-ven's next video and beg Zeb and Haniya to let me make one for them. And I miss writing in Urdu. Enough of this angraizi crap.

Instep: Rola is known for cutting edge work... can we expect more from you than music videos?

Uns Mufti: Of course. Pay us. We'll make it happen.

Instep: If you found an investor to make a full length feature, what would it be about?

Uns Mufti: It would probably be about a break-dancer in Peshawar.

Photographs are by Chetan Raghuram