Sharmeen Chinoy's "Song of Lahore" wins London Indian Film Festival award

“We are delighted that ‘Song of Lahore’ is resonating with audiences around the world. It is an ode to Pakistan’s rich musical heritage and we would like to dedicate this award to the Sachal orchestra,” said filmmakers Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Andy Schocken.

The film focuses on Sachal Studios founded by Izzat Majeed in Lahore. The move was a heroic attempt to revive Pakistani traditional music, using traditional instruments in the wake of cultural decline in the country.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is the only Pakistani ever to bag an Academy Award. No other has been able to match the feat so far. Not only an Academy Award, the Oscar-winning filmmaker also has an auspicious Emmy award to her name.

The musical documentary was also picked for the World Documentary Feature Competition at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival.

The official site of the movie describes the plot and focus of the movie in the following words:-

“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 it is an experimental album fusing jazz and South Asian instruments that brings Sachal Studios worldwide acclaim.  Their rendition of Dave Brubeck’s Take Five becomes a sensation, and Wynton Marsalis invites them to New York to perform with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra.  After a groundbreaking week of rehearsals fusing the orchestras from Lahore and New York, the musicians take to the stage for a remarkable concert.”