Pakistani Short/Drama
roya
“Roya,” an interpretation of “A Haunted House” by Virginia Woolf, is a non-linear stream of conscious short about a woman who keeps hearing voices and glimpses of a couple around her house. She goes into different rooms of her flat to investigate these ghosts. These ghosts are familiar to her; they almost seem like memories. Through visual storytelling, “Roya” shows the inner desires and longing of the character becoming apparent externally. Much of the short film revolves around lingering feelings and nostalgia; it is an exploration of human desires and grief. The film explores the themes of loneliness and isolation.
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Directed by
Sana Hussain
Starring
Farina Nezam
Farbod Montazeri
Mozhgan Haghi
Tanushka Soni
Imane Sribi
language
Persian
FILMED IN
Sydenham, London
director’s take
Why “zarda”
“Zarda here in our context is usually a celebratory dish, and the way I made this film, I wanted to celebrate the human spirit of life, and fighting back with your circumstances. That’s how I view Shella. No matter where she is, and no matter how hard things get around her, there is this spark of life which I wanted to celebrate through this film! And of course the fact that it’s colored rice just adds a bit more to the general theme of the film. That’s where ‘Zarda’ came from.”
JOJA’S TAKE
The parda in “ZarDa”
“While Shella doesn’t disclose the reason for leaving the house at what seems like an unexplained impulse to leave, her purpose for doing so is intentional. It turns out that Shella does not just freelance while waiting for the bus after school, but she has a job at a salon (where she speaks Urdu).”
trailer
About the Director
Sana Hussain is a multidisciplinary artist. She graduated from the National College of Arts in Pakistan with a major in Sculpture and did MA (Masters) in Filmmaking from the University for the Creative Arts in the UK. She has worked as a writer, director, producer and art director on multiple projects.
She has worked as a producer on a short film inspired by Chekhov’s play ‘The Seagull’ and her directorial short film “Roya” was an adapted Persian screenplay based on the works of Virginia Woolf which has been exhibited locally and internationally. Experimenting with whimsical short films and photo journals, she often creates an atmosphere that is both haunting yet brings strange comfort.
Her current work reflects the vulnerability of the body and the residue of violence. Immigration, familial connection, traces of memory, and literary pieces all come under her inquiry as an artist and as a filmmaker. She is currently teaching at NCA in the department of Sculpture Fine Arts.
