Donkey in Lahore (Faramarz K. Rahber) Australia 2008. Documentary. 117 Min. Color. English/Urdu/Arabic/Punjabi (with English subtitles).
The next film I watched is Donkey in Lahore. It’s about Brian, a liberal, Brisbane-born puppeteer falls in love with Amber, a Pakistani Muslim girl from a strict religious background. They meet during Brian’s short trip to Pakistan in 2000.
Upon his return to Australia, Brian decides to convert to Islam and return to Pakistan to seek her hand in marriage. Marrying Amber is surely not as easy as he thinks. Brian starts facing the challenges at the time he decides to marry Amber.
First, he has to deal with her parents and brother who are unwilling to let her marry non-Pakistani man. Second, to smooth out the way to a marriage he has to get a job in Lahore. He tries hard to make a puppet-tv show in which his donkey-puppet is played. He dreams to bring the donkey-puppet fame. The donkey unfortunately never comes to a fame.
After several visits, Brian can ensure Amber’s parents and get their blessings. Right after their wedding, Brian has to go back to Australia because of his visa expiration. In Australia, Brian tries to get a visa for Amber. The couple is twisted by the long process of being together as husband and wife. It takes more than two years for him to get Amber a visa to live with him in Australia.
The moral of the film : If you dream to have a mixed-marriage…wake up! And rethink! A mixed-marriage will surely cost you a lot of time, money, and energy.
About the Director:
Faramarz K.Rahber is an Australian-Iranian filmmaker. An award-winning graduate from Griffith University Queensland College of Art. He has worked across many roles in the documentary industry in the last 10 years. Currently he is a lecturer in documentary and film production at Griffith Film School, Griffith University.
The next film I watched is Donkey in Lahore. It’s about Brian, a liberal, Brisbane-born puppeteer falls in love with Amber, a Pakistani Muslim girl from a strict religious background. They meet during Brian’s short trip to Pakistan in 2000.
Upon his return to Australia, Brian decides to convert to Islam and return to Pakistan to seek her hand in marriage. Marrying Amber is surely not as easy as he thinks. Brian starts facing the challenges at the time he decides to marry Amber.
First, he has to deal with her parents and brother who are unwilling to let her marry non-Pakistani man. Second, to smooth out the way to a marriage he has to get a job in Lahore. He tries hard to make a puppet-tv show in which his donkey-puppet is played. He dreams to bring the donkey-puppet fame. The donkey unfortunately never comes to a fame.
After several visits, Brian can ensure Amber’s parents and get their blessings. Right after their wedding, Brian has to go back to Australia because of his visa expiration. In Australia, Brian tries to get a visa for Amber. The couple is twisted by the long process of being together as husband and wife. It takes more than two years for him to get Amber a visa to live with him in Australia.
The moral of the film : If you dream to have a mixed-marriage…wake up! And rethink! A mixed-marriage will surely cost you a lot of time, money, and energy.
About the Director:
Faramarz K.Rahber is an Australian-Iranian filmmaker. An award-winning graduate from Griffith University Queensland College of Art. He has worked across many roles in the documentary industry in the last 10 years. Currently he is a lecturer in documentary and film production at Griffith Film School, Griffith University.
