Locarno Sufi Trance Doc ‘As Light as Air’ Director Umair Bilal on Surrendering to a Pakistani Shrine Town: ‘I Became Part of Its Rhythm’

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Locarno Sufi Trance Doc ‘As Light as Air’ Director Umair Bilal on Surrendering to a Pakistani Shrine Town: ‘I Became Part of Its Rhythm’

Variety · 4 hours ago

Pakistani director Umair Bilal transformed his approach to filmmaking whilst documenting the Sufi shrine town of Sehwan, ultimately rejecting conventional documentary structure in favour of capturing the location's sensory and spiritual atmosphere. Rather than constructing a narrative around characters, his debut feature prioritises immersion in the pilgrims, ascetics, and ecstatic communal rituals that define the place, resulting in a 65-minute work that emphasises emotional progression over plot mechanics.

The production methodology reflected this philosophical shift, with Bilal and cinematographer Konstantin Stell employing an intuitive street-selection process where they followed whichever direction seemed to "call" them, whilst the editing team allowed visual and acoustic elements to guide the film's overall structure. Bilal characterises his work as musically composed rather than narratively driven, explaining that childhood memories initially drew him to Sehwan but were ultimately superseded by the town's authentic present reality, positioning him as aligned with the location's inherent character rather than an external observer.

  • Pakistani filmmaker Umair Bilal's debut 'As Light as Air' documents Sehwan's Sufi shrine town through immersive sensory experience rather than conventional narrative, prioritising the location's spiritual rhythm over character-driven storytelling
  • After months in Sehwan, Bilal abandoned imposed creative structure, adopting an intuitive methodology where cinematography and editing followed emotional and acoustic guidance instead of predetermined plot

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