The Director
Born in 1961, Sabiha Sumar studied Film-making and Political Science at Sarah Lawrence College in New York from 1980 to 1983, then International Relations at the University of Cambridge in 1984-85.
Sabiha Sumar has used her documentaries to critique society and sensitise people about women’s lives. Her first film, Who Will Cast The First Stone (for Channel Four, UK, 1987, Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival) focuses on working class women's protest against Islamic laws introduced in Pakistan in 1979 by General Zia's regime. Don’t Ask Why (for ZDF/3Sat, 1999) looks at the dreams and aspirations of a 17 year-old Muslim girl growing up in Pakistan against the backdrop of increasing religiosity in society.
Silent Waters (Khamosh Pani) is her first feature film.
Filmography:
1988 WHO WILL CAST THE FIRST STONE (tv doc)
1999 DON’T ASK WHY (tv doc)
2003 KHAMOSH PANI (SILENT WATERS)
2003 FOR A PLACE UNDER THE HEAVENS (tv doc)

 
Director’s Statement
While Silent Waters is set in times when history and politics are overwhelmingly present, it is about individual lives in the context of that history. It is also about the individual acts that make up this history. It is set in a Pakistan that contains both a timeless way of life and cataclysmic change. The film is the story of people who find ways to make a place home, to make sense of their tragedies, to find happiness and God through love and who sometimes conquer life and are sometimes defeated by it.
Silent Waters is the first film of its kind entirely shot in Pakistan. Film culture in Pakistan was virtually eliminated during the Islamisation years under President Zia ul Haq (1977 to 1988). My effort was to cast as many people as possible from around the location where we shot. I worked mainly with inexperienced talent and conducted acting workshops to train my cast. For the main character, I chose an Indian actress, Kirron Kher. When I met her for the first time, I immediately said to myself: “She is Ayesha.” Story-telling is an important part of cultural life. I hope that my work will help to regenerate film culture in Pakistan and contribute to the growth of alternative cinema.