Documentary focusing on Lahore music community to be released in US

According to a press release by Sharmeen Obaid Films, “Song of Lahore”, a documentary by Academy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Andy Schocken on the acclaimed Sachal Studios and their journey to New York, is set to be released in the US this November 2015 with premieres in New York City on the 3rd of November 2015, in San Francisco on the 6th of November 2015 and West Hollywood in Los Angeles on the 9th of November 2015.

Legendary Academy Award winning Actress Meryl Streep will host the premiers in New York and Los Angeles.

“Song of Lahore” is a documentary which focuses on the music community of Lahore, which until the late 1970s, was world-renowned for its music and talent. In 2004, Izzat Majeed founded Sachal Studios to create a space for traditional music in a nation that had rejected its musical roots. After convincing a number of master musicians to pick up their instruments again, they quietly released some classical and folk albums, but an experimental album fusing jazz and South Asian instruments brought Sachal Studios worldwide acclaim, the release read.

Song of Lahore turns the spotlight on Sachal Studios and charters the ensemble’s journey to reclaim and reinvigorate an art that has lost its space in Pakistan’s narrowing cultural sphere.

The premier schedule of Song of Lahore, being released in collaboration with Broad Green Pictures, comprises of a National Board of Review Screening on the 3rd of November followed by the National Board of Review Q&A featuring Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Andy Schocken. This will then be followed by the official Tastemaker Screening Hosted by Meryl Streep and The Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York and the Tastemaker Reception with a performance by the Sachal Jazz Ensemble.

A premiere at the Vogue Theater in San Francisco on the 6th of November 2015 follows New York, featuring Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Andy Schocken with a live Sachal Jazz Ensemble performance, the press release stated.

The team will then travel to West Hollywood in Los Angeles for the official Tastemaker Tea hosted by Meryl Streep on 9th of November 2015 at Palihouse featuring Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Andy Schocken and a live Sachal Jazz Ensemble performance.

The Sachal Studios ensemble is headed by Izzat Majeed, a Lahore, Pakistan based businessman and music aficionado and comprises of musicians Nijat Ali [conductor/co-arranger], Baqir Abbas [flute], Saleem Khan [violin], Asad Ali [guitarist], Rafiq Ahmed [mardang/dhol], Najaf Ali [naal/dhol] and Ballu Khan [tabla].

“Song of Lahore” has also been submitted for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 88th Academy Awards.