Inspired by a true story, Farzana (2021) is a short narrative film which revolves around the relationship of two middle-aged women and how they navigate their work in the home. Charmaine is a psychotherapist who works from home, and she hires Nasreen as a domestic worker to help her maintain her household. Nasreen is a recent migrant who is dealing with financial precarity. When there is a crisis in Nasreen’s family, she asks for assistance from Charmaine, but lack of trust between the two women results in hostility and conflict. We see all of this through the eyes of Zinnia, Charmaine's niece who is visiting her aunt and decides to record what she observes secretly. This film has evolved into a story which addresses the politics of class, women’s roles, and domestic labour, while also addressing the burden of bearing witness and documenting.
Full Film 33:44s
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CHARMAINE Marlo Aquilina
NASREEN Sara Caspian
ZINNIA Zinnia Naqvi
WRITER & DIRECTOR Zinnia Naqvi
PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR Zehra Nawab
PRODUCTION MANAGER Haad Bakshi
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Haad Bakshi
1st AD/PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Krishna Kolanupaka
2nd AD/COVID SAFETY OFFICER Sahil Bhullar
EDITOR Muhammad Nour El-Khairy
SOUND DESIGN Muhammad Nour El-Khairy
MIX ENGINEER Micah Brown
COMPOSER Micah Brown
COLOUR GRADE James Graham - AlterEgo Postproductions
SWING/B CAMERA OPERATOR Daniel Ferreira
A CAMERA 1st ASSISTANT CAMERA Jacqueline Di Bacco
B CAMERA 1st ASSISTANT CAMERA Jonathan Chung
2nd ASSISTANT CAMERA Katie Grabauskas
DSLR CAMERA Zinnia Naqvi
SOUND RECORDIST Felipe Gonzales
GAFFER Ricky Christie
KEY GRIP Roham Abtahi
DMT Eric Metzloff
ART DIRECTOR Jen Swain
HAIR AND MAKE UP Parteek Kaur
BTS PHOTOGRAPHER Zehra Abrar
SET PHOTOGRAPHER Lucy Lu
VISUAL EFFECTS Cameron Sharpe
Post-Production Facilities And Support Provided By PRIM-Dazibao Production-Dissemination Residency
We Acknowledge The Support Of the Canada Council for the Arts
SPECIAL THANKS
Atia Naqvi . Zehra Nawab . Haad Bakshi . Muhammad Nour El-Khairy . Micah Brown . Sabrina Naqvi . Rohan John . Noah John . Nahla John . Afsar Naqvi . Rehana Naqvi . Taniya Naqvi . Marc-André Paquin . France Choinière . Emma-Kate Guimond . Jennifer Pham . Annie MacDonell . Althea Thauberger. Ivetta Kang . Kinga Mischalska . Cecilia Berkovic . Mahalia Golnosh Tahririha . Amber Berson . Marisa Portolese . Noor Bhangu . Henza Anwar . François Toussaint . Sophie Carrier . Mélanie Desprez . Sylvain Cossette . Amélie Berthet . Bruno Bélanger
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2024 Upcoming YYZ Artist’s Outlet, Toronto
2023 MassArt Film Society Massachusetts College of Art and Design
2022 It was my discomfort that weighted the camera – Blinkers Art and Project Space, Winnipeg (Installation)
2022 Gandhara Independent Film Festival (Online)
2022 VISAFF Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival
2022 Flaherty NYC at Anthology Film Archives. “Out of Sight, Held in Mind” part of the program “Let’s All by Lichen” curated by asinnajaq
2022 Flaherty/Colgate Global Filmmaker in Residence Screening at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York.
2021 The Translation is Approximate - Dazibao, Montreal (Installation)