Mehreen Jabbar

Mehreen Jabbar
Born	Mehreen Jabbar
Years active	1994 - present

Mehreen Jabbar (Urdu: م‍ﮩ‍رين جبار ) (b. December 29, 1971), is a noted Pakistani film-maker and television director/producer. Mehreen is a daughter of well known media-person and businessman Javed Jabbar, she was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.

Life

Mehreen grew up around Pakistan's show business. Mehreen Jabbar belongs to Punjabi Saudagaran-e-Delhi community. Her father, Javed Jabbar, is a filmmaker himself. He has also been running a highly successful advertising agency for about 30 years which is where Mehreen got her first exposure to the television world. After receiving a B.A. from St. Joseph's College in Karachi, Mehreen went abroad to the USA in order to study film and completed a two year program at University of California Los Angeles in 1993, with a Film, Television and Video certificate, and returned to Pakistan to direct and produced drama series/serials under the banner of TasVeer Productions, almost all of which were critically acclaimed by the Pakistani press.

Her first television play was Nivala (Morsel), which was based on a short story by Ismat Chugtai. That telecast in 1994 on a private channel NTM. Mehreen has both produced and directed several made-for-television films for numerous Television Channels in Pakistan, in addition to a number of short films which have aired in festivals worldwide.

Her first feature length film, Ramchand Pakistani, was release in 2008 to great critical acclaim.

Mehreen was member of the National Board of Film Censors in Karachi, a founding member of WAR (War Against Rape), the Kara Film Festival in Karachi, and has also served as a juror at the Leeds International Film Festival in 2002. She currently resides in New York City, U.S.A..

Ramchand Pakistani wins award in Switzerland

The Pakistani film “Ramchand Pakistani” directed by Mehreen Jabbar won the popular Public Award (the People’s Choice Award), presented on March 21, the final night of the prestigious Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Audience members viewed over 13 outstanding films from around the world, and “Ramchand Pakistani” secured the highest number of “First Preference” votes. Countries whose films were also featured in the main competition included India, Germany, China, France, Iran, Algeria, Brazil, Belgium, Mexico, Chile, Columbia and South Korea.

The Public Award at Fribourg includes a cash prize of 5,000 Swiss Francs for the Producer of the film. The award is sponsored by the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SIDA).

Director Mehreen Jabbar attended the five-day festival as a guest. She answered questions and comments from jam-packed audiences which warmly applauded the film at the end of each of its three screenings.

This is the fourth major international award won by “Ramchand Pakistani” since its release at international Festivals in 2008. </ref> http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=168529</ref>

Filmography

• Ramchand Pakistani (2008), is her first full-length feature film.

Noted television plays

• Ab Tum Ja Saktey Ho
• Afsoon Khawab
• Aur Zindagi Badalti Hai (Life Changes)
• Beauty Parlor
• Daughters of the Late Colonel
• Deeda-e-Purkhoon
• Farar (Escape)
• Harjai (Betrayal)
• Lal Baig
• Putli Ghar (Puppet House)
• Sanam Gazida
• Doraha (Crossroads)
• Pehchaan (Identity)
• New York Stories
• Kahaniyaan (Stories)
• Malaal

Awards and nominations

• Ramchand Pakistani wins FIPRESCI Award from the International Federation of Film Critics and receives Honourable mention by the 13th Annual Satyajit Ray Awards at the London Film Festival (2008)
• Indus Drama Awards (2004) Best Director for Harjai
• IndusVision Young Achievers Award (2002)
• Lux Style Awards (2002) Aur Zindagi Badalti Hai Nominated for Best TV Series
• Kara Film Festival (2001) Best Director & Best medium-length Film for Daughters of the Late Colonel

Festival Screenings

Beauty Parlor screened at:

• The Hong Kong International Film Festival
• The Pusan Film Festival, South Korea
• The San Francisco Asian American Film Festival, USA
• Trikone Festival, USA
• The New Orleans Film Festival, USA
• Toronto Inside Out Film Festival, Canada
• The Regent Park Film Festival, Canada
• The Leeds Film Festival,UK
• Bite the Mango Festival,UK
• The Travelling Film Festival of the British Film Institute. UK
• Screenings at Pioneer Theatre, and the Queens Museum of Art , New York .

Daughters of the Late Colonel screened at:

• The KaraFilm Festival, Pakistan

Ramchand Pakistani Official Selection at:

• Tribeca Film Festival
• Seattle International Film Festival
• Osian Film Festival
• Rhode Island International Film Festival
• Pusan International Film Festival
• London International Film Festival
• South Asian International Film Festival
• Third I Film Festival, San Francisco
• Cairo International Film Festival
• Dubai International Film Festival
• Kerala Film Festival
• Fribourg Film Festival

See also

• Punjabi Saudagaran-e-Delhi
• Javed Jabbar
• Jabbar

External links

• Mehreen Jabbar's - Official website
• Mehreen Jabbar Interview on DearCinema.com
• Mehreen Jabbar's profile - Jazbah.org
• Interview with Mehreen Jabbar - Jazbah.org
• Minority report: Ramchand Pakistani - DAWN.com
• Mehreen Jabbar Unplugged - DesPardes.com