LYARI NOTES, Dir. Maheen Zia , Miriam Chandy Menacherry | Pakistán | 2016 | 80’
Lyari Notes is a 2016 documentary that was directed by Maheen Zia and Miriam Chandy Menacherry. The film premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and follows a young girl and her friends as they use music as a form of escape and expression.

The film follows four young girls that routinely travel from Lyari to a musical school in another area. The travel is long and dangerous, plus the girls’ families are not always supportive of their desire to learn music as they feel that it violates Islamic law. Lyari Notes follows the girls over a three-year period.

MAHEEN  ZIA

Maheen Zia is a Pakistani film director and film editor.

She has a degree in Radio/TV Production from Drake University (USA) and teaches at the Department of Visual Studies at the University of Karachi. She has worked as an editor at a production house and made documentaries and short films on social issues and is one of the founder members and is on the organizing board of Pakistan’s young, international film festival – The KaraFilm Festival.

She has served as Jury for International Film Festivals like Tehran International Short Film Festival 2005, Tehran, Iran, November 2005, Tampere Film Festival 2006, Tampere, Finland, March 2006, and Hyderabad International Film Festival 2007, Hyderabad, AP, India. The berlinale lists her in their talent data base She is also actively involved with PAWS Pakistan Animal Welfare Society.

Maheen Zia, is the winner of India EU Film Initiative – Berlin Today Award 08 for the film ‘Match Factor’ Maheen Zia worked as Juror for Afghanistan Competition of 2nd Kabul Documentary & Short Film Festival and also won the third prize of this festival for her documentary work ‘The Women of Lahore’ in the international competition section.

Maheen Zia won the BERLIN TODAY AWARD 2008 for her short film Match Factor.

MIRIAM  CHANDY  MENACHERRY

       

Founder, Director at Filament Pictures a Mumbai based production house. She has pitched and produced award winning films that have been broadcast on international channels like the National Geographic channel, BBC world and Arte. Her 2011 film THE RAT RACE weaves together the narratives of rat killers in Mumbai. It won the Mipdoc Co production Challenge at Cannes, premiered at IDFA and won the audience awards at Florence and Kerala. It is one of the rare documentaries to get theatrical releases in 3 Indian cities winning critical and popular acclaim. Her documentary LYARI NOTES premiered at IDFA and was selected for Sheffield Doc Fest.