There is an element of irresistibility about the grandeur of flamboyant ceremonies, such as the one that marked the end of the sixth Kara Film Fest which took place Sunday night at the PAF Museum. It had it all: A brightly-lit colourful stage, complete with flat television screens, a long red carpet walk, ending with a surfeit of media cameras, a gathering of a menagerie of celebrities and, of course, the awards. Just throw in a performance by the popular Pakistani rock band, Strings, and an imported French treat in the form of the Caravan Jazz Quartet, and you have an elaborate party.

Clearly, there was reason for celebration. Kara has grown not only as an event but also as a symbol of progress in the city and the country. Compared to its predecessors, the sixth edition of the annual event was larger in size, featuring over 170 films (there were 150 last year) from all over the world, which included premieres and already recognised works that had won awards at other prominent international festivals. Aside from increased attendance, it was attended by more delegates and celebrated names from the cinematic field.

Furthermore, Kara, as announced during the opening ceremony at the Mohotta Palace, will also endeavour to set up film institutions in the country, which will support and nurture local talent and efforts. Even the authorities are on board, with Sindh Governor Eshratul Ibad offering up government premises if needed, and the event is now no longer a low-key, inconspicuous and minimalist effort that it began as. Kara is being hailed, by all quarters, for playing such an important part, commercially and socially, in the growth of cinematic creativity in Pakistan.

Yet, almost inappropriately, on the night of the closing ceremony, there seemed to be a very obvious sense of unnecessary excess in the air. One cannot help but feel that the consequential aspect the festival ended with the last crowded screening late Sunday afternoon. Ironically, the closing ceremony was where the admiration and plaudits were meant to culminate via awards, which, this time, included not only the shell-shaped Ciepies (the Kara Award) but also financial prizes.

When Hasan Zaidi, the Director of the Festival, came up on stage for his speech, his tone reflected a certain indifference towards the grandeur of ceremony itself. Except, of course, when he rightly acknowledged the untiring effort of the Kara volunteers, without which the festival could not have been the success that it indeed was.

The high-point of the show, in regard to relevance to the purpose of festival, was when Zaidi pointed that Kara was once a target of the censor board and an assortment of other regulatory bodies. On Sunday night, however, those very designations were in attendance gladly partaking in the closing celebrations of the festival. It was a showcase of Kara?s achievement of inducing a change in the mindset of authority. That, in itself, deserves an award.

In the end, the night saw the Jazz Quartet move the crowd with a thoroughly entertaining assortment of compositions while, later, Strings put up a lively performance and brought them to their feet. Still there was something unfitting and tangential about it all.

Hasan Zaidi in his speech articulated the futility of attempting to sum up the ten-day festival on the occasion, pointing out that those who had attended it were already cognisant or capable of an appraisal. That sentiment alone shows why the closing ceremony was bordering the redundant. Unfortunately, the closing, while entertaining in and of itself, simply could not compliment the substance of Kara. Still, it should not distract from the success that was the 2006 rendition of Karachi?s very own Film Fest.



Kara awards

Best Pakistani Film Made for Television: ?Daani? directed by Farooq Rind and produced by Khalid Ahmed

Best Documentary: ?AFSPA, 1958? (India) by Haobam Paban Kumar AND ?Fuego de Angel (Angel?s Fire)? (Spain/Peru) directed by Marcelo Bukin

Best Female Actor: Nathalie Baye, ?Le Petit Lieutenant? (France)

Best Male Actor: Saif Ali Khan, ?Omkara? (India) AND Ahmad Razvi, ?Man Push Cart? (USA)

Best Supporting Female: Rukayya Prachi, ?Ontorjatra? (Homeland) (Bangladesh)

Best Supporting Male: Raza Jaffrey, ?Infinite Justice?, (UK ? Pakistan)

Best Cinematography: Marcel Zyskind, ?The Road to Guantanamo? (UK)

Best Direction: Ramin Bahrani, ?Man Push Cart? (USA)

Best Feature Film: Girish Kasaravalli, ?Nayi Neralu? (?In the Shadow of a Dog?) (India)

Lifetime Achievement Award - 1: Talat Hussain for his longstanding contribution to film and television.

Lifetime Achievement Award - 2: S. B. John for his contribution to film music.

KaraFilm Society Award: Mahesh Bhatt for support to the festival and his contribution to Indo-Pak collaboration in the field of film.