Videos: Lahore Literary Festival in New York City
In early May, Asia Society hosted the two-day Lahore Literary Festival, an event that brought some of Pakistan's best performers, creative minds and cultural commentators to New York for discussions of topics like contemporary art, literature, U.S.-Pakistan relations, and popular culture. Check out several of the panels and performances in the videos below:
The Pakistani singer Zeb Bangash performs. (49 min., 28 sec.)
Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations Maliha Lodhi gives introductory remarks. (7 min., 31 sec.)
Fashion designer Ammar Belal, screenwriter and actor Sarmad Khoosat, and filmmaker and author Sadia Shepard discuss fashion, art, entertainment, and pop culture in contemporary Pakistan. Professor Maryam Wasif Khan of Lahore University of Management Sciences moderates the discussion. (59 min., 21 sec.)
Syed Babar Ali, former president of WWF International and founder of Lahore University of Management Sciences and Ali Institute of Education, discusses education in Pakistan with ABC News anchor Amna Nawaz. (44 min., 33 sec.)
Salima Hashmi, Sadia Shirazi, and Salman Toor discuss contemporary art in Pakistan at Asia Society's Lahore Literary Festival in New York. Amin Jaffer moderates the discussion. (53 min., 18 sec.)
Manan Ahmed, Stephen P. Cohen, and Hina Rabbani Khar discuss the demographic shifts, dynamism, paradoxes, and challenges facing Pakistan today. Raza Rumi moderates the conversation. (57 min., 34 sec.)
Arfa Sayeda Zehra, Frances Pritchett, and Tahira Naqvi discuss Urdu literature. Dr. Azra Raza moderates the discussion. (54 min., 11 sec.)
The classically-trained Saami Brothers Qawwal perform traditional qawwali music following the two-day festival. (2 hr., 7 min.)