Saba Karim Khan | Interview | TIFF
TIFF : Who are your biggest filmmaking influences?
Saba : In terms of documentaries, I am a fan of Asif Kapadia’s work. A film that has really stayed with me was Caramel, directed by Nadine Labaki. It’s not a documentary but still, a director whose work I admire.
TIFF : How do you develop your characters?
Saba : The gold standard of “show, don’t tell”, tends to work really well in documentaries. As such, I prefer that my characters use their own voice to tell their stories, to keep it as close-to-the-bone as possible. Ultimately, it is their world, their perspectives and the way they make meaning out of it, which we are trying our best to capture. Preserving their voice, therefore, becomes incredibly important when developing character arcs.
Also, when you immerse yourself in the mileu of the characters, stay with them over long stretches of time, they begin to share their world with you. It is in those glimmers that you are able to capture everyday moments of courage, joy, rupture—basically, all that goes into making life.
TIFF : How has the film industry changed since you started?
Saba : Technology has been a game-changer in enabling independent storytellers to emerge, without having to overcome the traditional barriers of filmmaking. Anyone with a phone today can tell a story. However, that is not to discount the incredibly rich legacy of documentaries and films that the subcontinent has, well before the internet and devices came into the picture. Sometimes, I feel, we don’t give our history due credit, for there were some filmmakers with real grit and gravitas, who were speaking about complex topics, well before our time.
In terms of change, when I look at it from the outside (and this doesn’t apply to the kind of documentaries I make), but I find that the entourage, paraphernalia and PR often tend to overwhelm the industry. This has detracted from the simplicity of telling a story that previously prevailed.
TIFF : How important is the script to you in the filmmaking process?
Saba : For projects like Concrete Dreams or the new documentary of mine that’s coming up, it’s hard to have a pre-planned script. This is a much more anthropological and ground-up approach, where the story emerges through the time spent with characters during interviewing and filming. Sometimes, a dialogue or facial expression will emerge, that couldn’t have been pre-empted. Those are the moments that are magic and couldn’t have been planned, which is why I can’t stay wedded to a script.
TIFF : How do you see the role of film in society?
Saba : Entertainment and hopefully enhancing empathy.
For instance, by making a film about Pakistani street child footballers or underground hip-hop artists in Karachi, I am really hoping for a versatile audience from across the world to watch it, so that someone, for example, sitting in Costa Rica or El Salvador or Kyoto might get a glimpse into a world they may otherwise not know much about. That perspective building (beyond what breaking news headlines offer us), happens when you watch stories beyond your immediate compass—and film festivals, such as yours, really help me with this sort of outreach.
TIFF : What is your style of directing?
Saba : I usually work with a close-knit team and the only litmus test that they need to pass is to be equally passionate about the project. After that, it’s co-creation and collaboration all the way. But most of all, the individuals whose stories we are filming, they need to be treated with the utmost kindness and respect. They are opening a very intimate world to us and for anyone to be sharing that kind of vulnerability is far from easy.
TIFF : How do you handle conflicts or disagreements within the team?
Saba : I see these less as conflicts but more as a diverse bunch of people sharing a diverse bunch of ideas. If everyone just always agreed with everyone else’s ideas, that wouldn’t be generative. It’s in the moments when team members push you to rethink and question your original thought, that something novel tends to emerge. Of course, it helps that these are people you also trust. Moreover, since I am a self-taught filmmaker, I believe I must be intentional about receiving others’ opinions and giving them due consideration—that’s definitely part of my growth and learning curve.
TIFF : How do you approach filmmaking on a limited budget?
Saba : The million $ question! Budgets are rarely ever enough, right? What this means is that we invest as much as we can in the project, to create something special and then try to push the film out through creative and more affordable ways. Because by the time we reach marketing, there’s hardly ever any funding left! Though what I have realised is that getting word out about the film is equally important and technology has opened up more cost-effective avenues to do this.
What this also requires is being quite organised about filming schedules, so that you’re not crossing over the budget allocated for this. It’s not simple but the desire to tell the story drives you to the finish line.
TIFF : What kind of impact do you hope to make with your films? How do you measure success?
Saba : Two things: first, as I mentioned earlier, if someone sitting far away from Pakistan gets a chance to see life in the tiny alleys of Gizri and how rap music is being produced from there, I feel my job is partially done. It opens up a window into Pakistan that otherwise gets crushed. We aren’t just bombs, guns and bearded terrorists. There are these human stories embedded in these neighbourhoods, that most people know nothing about. These need to be told and not just told, but heard globally.
Second, I hope my endeavor as a filmmaker can illustrate to other people, that there is no expiry date to pursuing your calling, nor does it always have to be through a conventional path. I am not a trained filmmaker, but I knew I wanted to tell stories, so I decided to give it a shot. For me, it started when I heard someone share this quote with me at NYU Abu Dhabi (the original is by Sir Henry David Thoreau): “most men and women lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them”—when I was asked what my song is, that’s when I realised, storytelling is it. I hope others get to unearth their song(s) and sing them freely, even though the path isn’t always easy.
TIFF : Independent filmmaking often involves taking risks. How do you balance risk and reward?
Saba : Quite honestly, I haven’t placed all my eggs in one basket. I still have a day job and other writing projects. For me, the craft of filmmaking is what instills me with utmost joy and feels deeply rewarding, that’s why I pursue it. The priority is not to make millions from it but rather, the process is the prize. Of course, when strangers from across the world watch and connect through your work, that is also a real bonus!
