Sarmad Khoosat’s directorial film Zindagi Tamasha was selected as Pakistan’s official entry to the 93rd Academy Awards in the International Feature Film Award category. The movie has been dropped out of the race to the Oscars.
The film has faced controversies over its story line and has not been released in the country. According to recent reports published in Variety magazine, “Fifteen films will advance to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category. Films from 93 countries were eligible in the category, the most in Oscars history. Academy members from all branches were invited to participate in the preliminary round of voting and must have met a minimum viewing requirement to be eligible to vote in the category.”
However, Zindagi Tamasha is no longer in the race to win an Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced the shortlist for nine categories for Oscar 2021. The categories and number of films include a documentary feature (15), documentary short subject (10), international feature (15), makeup and hairstyling (10), original score (15), original song (15), animated short film (10), live-action short film (10) and visual effects (10).
Zindagi Tamasha is directed and co-produced by Sarmad Khoosat and his sister Kanwal Khoosat and written by Nirmal Bano. Its cast include Arif Hassan, Eman Suleman, Samiya Mumtaz, and Ali Kureshi in the lead roles.
The Pakistani Academy Selection Committee had submitted Khoosat’s film for the Oscars. The committee was chaired by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Faisal Kapadia, Asad-ul-Haq, Hamza Bangash, Syed Muhammad Ahmed, Mehwish Hayat, Hasan Shehreyar Yasin, Asim Abbasi, Arshad Mahmud, and Jamal Shah.
The publication further reported that the nominations’ voting will start on, March 5, 2021, and will continue till March 10, 2021. The nominations for Oscars 2021 will be announced on March 15, 2021. The 93rd Oscars ceremony will air on April 25, 2021.