Mumtaz Hussain (filmmaker)


Mumtaz Hussain is a Pakistani-American artist, filmmaker, graphic designer who was born in Jhang, Pakistan.

History and education

Upon graduation, he was commissioned to construct a seventy-foot mural in Lahore's town center; he was also commissioned to decorate the Sheikh Zaid bin Sultan Palace, an architectural landmark in Karachi, under his instructors' supervision.

Film

Hussain has participated in a number of films as director, writer, producer of both animations and short films. Titles to date include the feature length Art=2, for which he also produced the paintings used as a key narrative device in the film, and shorts Butterfly Screams, Push Button For, Yeh Mera Pakistan Hai for Pakistani TV Channel GEO, Inside You.
His film Soul of Civilization has been shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City as part of its 2003 exhibit The Art of the First Cities.
His art and films have been shown at numerous museums, universities, art galleries, and many international film Festivals, including the 6th Karachi International Film Festival.

Filmography

Director

LEGAL ALIEN is a surrealistic play in three scenes as narrated by the Devil. Kalu is half human and half dog. He symbolizes the state of the illegal immigrant in this country. He hates being Black and yearns to be all White.
Scene 1 is set in the house of his mother. Mother explains how he came to be a half breed and what he needs to do to be normal. She sends him to a guru, Chitta Sain.
Scene 2 takes place in the Shrine of Chitta Sain. Kalu meets Chitta Sain and pretends to be Osho Rajneesh. Chitta Sain sends him in search of the Seven Bones of Sin. If Kalu wants to be normal he must feed the Bones of Sin to the black dog at the back of Chitta Sain's shrine. You will have your own identity; you will not be a black or white.
Scene 3 takes place in the financial district of a great city. In a city built on a capitalistic system KALU wanders around the financial distract where he discovers that those seven bones of sins are available through the capital system. Although he does not have money to purchase the Seven Bones of Sin, he is told that he may mortgage his soul to secure them. He readily signs away his soul for the Bones. He returns to the Shrine of Chitta Sain. Kalu feeds all his values, in the form of the bones, to the black dog. He is now a part of the capitalistic society. The Devil rewards Kalu with the stamp of LEGAL ALIEN.

Awards and honors