Pakistani cinematographer and documentary maker Asad Faruqi has made his country proud as his short documentary Call Center Blues has been nominated for Oscars 2021.
Earlier, Faruqi won an Emmy Award for the documentary Armed in Faith in the best political and government news and documentary category in 2018.
He has also shot Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s Academy and Emmy awards-winning documentary films, A Girl in the River (2016) and Saving Face (2012).
The Multitude Films short documentary Call Center Blues is helmed by Geeta Gandbhir and has received praise in several international film festivals.
The film synopsis narrates that it examines the lives of four characters deported from the US. They are linked only by the fact of their deportation and that call center work is their only way to earn a living. They live and struggle to rebuild their lives in Tijuana, a Mexican city.
“These characters paint a picture of love, loss and longing – for home, for an American Dream deferred, and for justice,” the South by Southwest Conference says on its website.
While fellow filmmakers in the industry have their hopes high for Faruqi to win the prestigious award for his latest film. Earlier, his filmed documentary Pakistan’s Taliban Generation (2009) had also won the Emmy and Alfred I. Dupont awards.
