The Second Floor

An Awareness and Activism Session on HIV/AIDS
Tuesday, 19th Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

Over the last few years, HIV has spread rapidly in Pakistan. Reported cases of HIV infected people jumped from 8 in 2001 to 75,000 in 2008. The risk of HIV infection and its impact feeds on violations of human rights, including discrimination against women and marginalized groups such as sex workers and people who inject drugs. Over the past decade, the critical need for strengthening human rights to effectively respond to the epidemic and deal with its effects has become startlingly clear.

Let’s break the conspiracy of silence.

Pascal Hubatka, AIESEC - HIV/AIDS Awareness Programme, will deliver a presentation on misconceptions surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Salman Safdar, Provincial Programme Officer, Sindh - UNAIDS Pakistan, will talk about the current scenario in Pakistan and the role of UNAIDS in Karachi.

After the presentations, we will have an open discussion on perceptions about HIV/AIDS, non-discrimination, the right to privacy, the right to information, and the right to health care.

We will end with a live, unplugged cover of Bruce Springsteen’s hit single, The Streets of Philadelphia.

Date: Tuesday 19th August, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
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Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

A Tribute to Three Pioneering Environmental Journalists
Sunday, 17th Aug 2008 | 7:00 pm

This commemorative session on environmental issues concludes the Saneeya Hussain Week, August 11-17, 2008. Please join friends and colleagues of three pioneering environmental journalists to talk about their work and experiences, where environmental journalism in Pakistan stands today, and ‘the way ahead’.

Activities

• Celebrating Saneeya: A Short Film
• Reminiscences

Zulekha Ali: A Passion for Environment - Presented by Owais Tohid
Ameneh Azam Ali: Communities and Forests - Presented by Talat Aslam
Saneeya Hussain: The NCS Bulletin / The Way Ahead - Presented by Sahar Ali

• Activism and Results
• Unplugged Music featuring Flam, an emerging band

Speakers and panelists include Beena Sarwar, Dhunmai Cowasjee, Bhagwandas, Isa Daudpota (via Skype), Arif Belgaumi, Faisal Siddiqi, and Roland deSouza.

Date: Sunday 17th August, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
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Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

After the critical acclaim of their previous productions, the KB Thespians bring you Beckett’s immortal drama, Waiting for Godot.

Voted “the most significant English language play of the 20th century”, a very special preview of Waiting for Godot will be staged at T2F this weekend.

Date: Saturday 2nd August, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
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Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

The full-length play will be staged at the PACC from the 8th - 10th of August 2008 and tickets will be available at T2F on the day of the preview.

For further details, e-mail kbthespians@gmail.com, call 0345-218-2306, 0300-215-0121, or find the theater group on Facebook.

This Friday, T2F is delighted to host two special guests, Ruhi Hamid and Misha Maltsev aka DJ HERETIC
Date: 18th July 2008 | Time: 7:00 pm

We’ll kick off the evening with a screening of Ruhi Hamid’s critically acclaimed film, The Rockstar and the Mullahs, followed by a Q/A with the Director. After a break to clear the decks, we will move straight into an eclectic mix of funk, latin, jazz, drum’n'bass, techno, soul, and balkan, featuring London DJ, Misha Maltsev, aka DJ HERETIC.

The Rockstar and the Mullahs
Running Time: 55 minutes

The lead singer of Pakistan’s biggest rock group travels to Peshawar, where the local government has banned all music, and asks, “Why can’t spirituality be expressed through pop songs?”

Salman Ahmad is the charismatic lead guitarist for the popular Pakistani rock group, Junoon. Inspired by the ancient Sufi tradition, the band’s music and lyrics reflect the moderate, liberal side of Islam. But a coalition of fundamentalist Islamic parties has made recent gains in Pakistani elections, and Junoon’s high profile places them in conflict with the hardliners. Salman Ahmed journeys to the tolerant, ancient city of Lahore and the fundamentalist stronghold of Peshawar to reveal the internal religious and political conflicts of nuclear-armed Pakistan. The mullahs want to ban their music but Junoon’s fans, among them, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, have made Salman a rock idol. From this trip emerges a rich portrait of modern day Pakistan, a pivotal nation in the war against terror.

Ruhi Hamid
Ruhi Hamid has pushed boundaries for Muslim women and specialises as a solo director/camerawoman. After her award-winning series “Lahore Law”, Ruhi has made films for the BBC, Channel 4, Arte and Al Jazeera International including “Women and Islam” and “The Rockstar and the Mullahs”. After working as a graphic designer in Holland, Zimbabwe and in London at the BBC for many years, Ruhi turned her skills to programme making. She worked on the innovative strand of films Video Diaries/Video Nation, dedicated to working alone with DV cameras giving access to ordinary members of the public to have their voices and stories heard on mainstream television. By listening and allowing contributors to open up and trust her, Ruhi has gained access to peoples and cultures and has captured critical moments on camera. This has been the case whether Ruhi worked with a young autistic boy in England, the Kalapalo Indians in the Brazillian Amazon, the shamans in the Siberian forests or the criminal courts in Pakistan.

Ruhi’s film about the Hmong tribe (ex CIA veterans) in Laos was nominated for the Rory Peck Awards in 2004, and “At The Epicentre”, a documentary about the aftermath of the Asian tsunami in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, won her the same award in 2005. Her two recent high profile films are “Inside A Shariah Court” filmed in Nigeria and “The King’s New Laws” about law reform in Morocco. For her next project, Ruhi has gained unprecedented access to the British High Commission’s Forced Marriages Unit in Islamabad.

Misha Maltsev / DJ HERETIC
Misha Maltsev comes from Pokrovsk in the Republic of Sakha, Siberia. Before moving to London in 2000, he helped organize the Tabyk music festival, produced alternative and world music programmes for Sakha State Radio and independent media stations, published a music fanzine, and produced local artists such as Stepanida Borisova and Chyskyyrai. An alumni of SOAS, Misha works on radio and TV documentaries as a freelancer for the BBC; his film journeys have included an extreme Siberian winter expedition with a husky sled team and a trek in the jungles of Laos to film the Hmong rebels.

DJ HERETIC is one of London’s most eclectic DJs. He has performed with militant rapper Shamil from Fun-Da-Mental Soundsystem and has played DJ gigs ranging from festivals such as Glastonbury, Big Chill and the Isle of Wight Festival to small clubs like Radio Gagarin in Notting Hill Arts Club where he is a resident DJ. His adventurous and eccentric DJ sets include anything from minimal techno to field-recordings of the Balkan Gypsies, Afro-Beat, Latin or punk.

Misha combines DJ activities with his research fellowship in ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. His current research project is about the revival of shamanism in Siberian indigenous republics.

Date: Friday 18th July, 2008
Time: 7:00 pm
Minimum Donation: Rs. 250
Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
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Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

The Lahore film industry, Lollywood, has reflected and adapted to the changing moods in Pakistan’s socio-politico-cultural sphere over its tumultuous history. It has morphed from the sole source of family entertainment that unified the classes, into a stigmatized sex and violence industry that caters specifically to the tastes of a small population of the working class. In a slightly camp and overtly analytical style, this comprehensive documentary reconstructs the demise of Lollywood, and deconstructs the various forces that have sidelined the culture of cinema in Pakistan today. A first of its kind documentary, Bhuli Hui Hoon Daastan, is a tribute to the Lollywood film industry.

The screening will be followed by a discussion, focusing on the current state of Pakistani cinema, media education and upcoming films.

Bhuli Hui Hoon Daastan has been screened at The South Asian Film Festival - New York 2005, KARA Film Festival 2004, Bite the Mango Film Festival - Bradford 2005, The Delhi Digital Film Festival 2005, and ‘Pehli Dhahdkan’ Pakistani Film Festival - Glasgow 2005. The film has played at schools and universities across the country and internationally, and recently aired on both Geo and Geo News as part of the ‘Geomentary’ series.

About the Director

Adnan Malik is a Vassar College educated, Karachi based ’slashie’ - a filmmaker/ actor/model. The majority of his work uses pop culture and identity as a point of investigation. He has directed ‘Bijli’, a multi-award winning short film about a Muslim drag queen in New York, ‘The Forgotten Song’, Pakistan’s first feature length documentary on Lollywood, as well as having contributed to films such as the Sundance winning ‘Why We Fight’, and ‘A Jihad for Love’. Adnan has also contributed a film, ‘Telephone Pyaar’, to the 60×60 project organized by MotiRoti, has assisted on a number of music videos and has been on the directing team of ‘The Lux Style Awards’ for the last 4 years. He has also been a member of the organizing committee of ‘The KARA Film Festival’ since 2003.

Bhuli Hui Hoon Daastan (The Forgotten Song)
PAKISTAN / 95 MIN / URDU
CREDITS:
Camera: Najaf Bilgrami
Editing: Adnan Malik, Maheen Zia
Producer: Geo Television
Scripted, Researched and Directed by Adnan Malik

Date: Sunday 13th July, 2008

Time: 7:00 pm

Minimum Donation: Rs. 50

Venue: The Second Floor (T2F)
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Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Distinguished surgeon and social activist, Dr. Shershah Syed, has turned to the short story with a unique passion. Six collections of stories have won him strong reviews from leading writers and the admiration of many readers.

When Dr Shershah Syed is not in his doctor’s gown or sitting with friends, or off on a marathon or cycling, or even writing short stories, he’s busy taking the government to task and speaking his mind on the high level of maternal mortality. (Zofeen T. Ebrahim)

This Thursday, Dr. Shershah Syed will read from his new book, Dil Hae Daagh Daagh, followed by a discussion with the audience.

Date: Thursday 10th July, 2008

Join us at T2F as Dr. Aslam Farrukhi takes a walk down memory lane

Writer and educationist, Dr. Aslam Farrukhi came to Karachi in September 1947. Since then, he has witnessed manifold changes in the city he made his home. Actively involved in the literary scene, he has vivid memories of the many writers and poets who lived here. One of the earliest students of Karachi University, Dr. Farrukhi went back to his alma mater and spent several decades teaching there.

The author of a number of books, Dr. Farrukhi will walk down memory lane this Sunday, recalling the changing face of the city of Karachi and its writers.

Date: Sunday 6th July, 2008

Time: 7:00 pm

Minimum Donation: Anything you like. Please support the PeaceNiche platform for open dialogue and creative expression generously.

Seats are limited and will be available on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. No reservations.

Zaina Anwar is a self-taught artist and was exposed to drawing and etching at a very early age, thanks to her maternal grandfather who was also an artist. Inspired by the theories of Carl Jung and the philosophy of Nietzsche, Zaina’s artistic influences range from Egon Schiele to Miro. She is fascinated with Jung’s concept of the connection between art and the unconscious, and her own work is a perpetual visiting and revisiting of the symbolic world of her unconscious mind. Faces are ubiquitous in Zaina’s work, especially the eyes, which she believes are windows to the soul.

Zaina’s work is available for sale at T2F …

Large Frame: Rs. 15,000
Medium Frame: Rs. 6,000

An independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture

Helvetica, a documentary film by Gary Hustwit, looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives.

The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type. Helvetica encompasses the worlds of design, advertising, psychology, and communication, and invites us to take a second look at the thousands of words we see every day.

Date: Friday 27th June, 2008

In the summer of 2004, seven people got together for a jam session on the third floor of a building. A new underground band was born!

7 on 3rd features:

Jaffar Hashim - Guitars
Gibran Nasir - Vocals
Aasim Karim Faruqui - Guitars
Daniel Panjwaneey - Bass
Ahmed Mohammad - Drums

Samar Syed and Shami will join 7 on 3rd for a live performance of rock covers at T2F on June 25th 2008.

Date: Wednesday 25th June, 2008