Pakistani actor Usman Mukhtar is set to make his debut entry at Cannes International Independent Film Festival, as his short film ‘Bench’ with Rubya Chaudhry has been nominated for an award.
He shared the news with his fans and followers on his Instagram account – “With great humility, joy and pride do we announce that Bench has been selected at the first Cannes International Independent Film Festival – CIIFF,” wrote Mukhtar as he expressed happiness on the selection of his short film.
The Pakistani actor went on to say, “We strive for the love of art and cinema and hope to reach new heights. We will continue making more films and also make it to the one and only Cannes Film Festival one day.”
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Mukhtar expresses gratitude
Mukhtar expressed gratitude to the people who watched his film. “A big thanks is to everyone that watched it and showed so much love and appreciation,” he wrote in conclusion.
“The entire team is very happy and I’m honestly really proud of the team, from Natasha Ejaz to Rubya Chaudhry, Hassan Naeem to Ali Muddar – all of these guys are the core members of Bench and we’re all really grateful and glad to have made it this far,” asserted Usman Mukhtar.
Fans hope that like Mahira Khan, Usman Mukhtar too will make a grand debut at Cannes International Independent Film Festival.
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What Usman Mukhtar says about Bench?
The film is written by Ali Mudar and directed by Mukhtar. The film features two people in a difficult phase in their lives. They come across each other as they meet on a bench. Earlier, in his interview, he asserted that “the film is about two people who meet on a bench. It’s a dialogue based film which takes very interesting twist and turns.”
The film shows two young people sitting on a bench in a public park and wondering what went wrong in their respective relationships.
In an interview with an Arab media outlet, he said that bench was a natural consequence of his commercial ads. “When you’ve worked in glossy ventures, there comes a time when you want to return to your roots and do something raw and organic. ‘Bench’, I believe, came about like that,” said Mukhtar.
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While praising his co-star Rubya Chaudhry with whom he worked in another short film, Usman asserted “I have worked with Rubya before, and we have a great working dynamic. There is no one who could have done the role better than her.”
“When I approached her for the film, she said yes without thinking twice, and the rest as they say is history. Rubya is a fantastic actor, and I hope that the industry does justice to her talent and recognizes her for the actress she is,” noted Usman Mukhtar.
The movie has already been screened at the Independent Short Awards Los Angeles, 3rd South Asian Film Festival Kolkata, Prisma Awards in Rome, and South Asian Film Festival Toronto.
Usman Mukhtar made his TV debut last year with the drama serial Anaa alongside, Naimal Khawar, Shehzad Sheikh, and Hania Amir. He is currently appearing in a HUM TV show, Sabaat, along with Sara Khan and Mawra Hocane.