A Conversation with SYED ALI NASIR, founder of Group101Karachi:

101LA: One of the films you made for Group101Karachi won an award recently. We're jealous-- I mean proud of you. Tell us about it.

NASIR: The festival was the Karachi International Film Festival, known as the Karafilm Festival. It's the only major annual film festival that takes place in Pakistan and this was it's fourth year so there was a large foreign contingent with films and filmmakers from all over the world. I had two short films in competition (both made for Group101Karachi) and one of them won me the 'National Emerging Filmmaker Award'. It was quite short (about three minutes), was called 'Lust' and revolved around the confession that a Pakistani serial killer had given to the police when he had given himself up. As always, it was made the night before the Group101 meeting and I ended up using the only person that I had easy access to; my dad! Anyway, he came through and the rest as they say, is history.

'Lust' was made in the last month of the Group101Karachi wave when each of the seven filmmakers picked one of the seven deadly sins as their topic. That month's screening was interesting to say the least.

NASIR: The award was sponsored by a local TV channel and as part of the award they will be funding my next film. There wasn't any cash involved but even if there was you couldn't have any!

NASIR: We are regrouping right now so we are on a break. We will definitely start up again soon.

NASIR: A lot of things but I miss In-and-Out Burger the most. Pakistanis make some damn good food but they dont know the first thing about making a tasty burger!

NASIR: Definitely!

NASIR: Ok, you too. Pakistan out.