* The films are no longer available and the Emigre rani segment is only available till April 5, 2022.
Mira Sethi
Swineryy
Check-In
- WOW Marketplace
- Checking in with Swineryy
- Workshops Announcement
- Festival website - wowvirtual.pk
- WOW Interactive: Raniverse: Women in the digital World
Tazeen Bari
Ms. Ali
Vote for X (Film + Q&A)
The film follows the journey of transgender candidate Nayyab Ali, who contested the National Assembly seat in the 2018 elections in Pakistan. The fight for effective political representation unfolds through the eyes of the protagonist, who dreams of the day when transgender people will reach Pakistan’s assemblies
Mai Dhai
Centennial Crescendo - Part 2
Centennial Crescendo is our opening act presented by the amazing Mai Dhai. A 101 year old woman performer who has seen more change in the past century than most will ever witness in their lifetime, she sings in the local Marwari language of Sindh. Her voice is powerful and the language holds immense cultural nuance, expressing the depth of feelings and the grandeur of a people's cultural ideas.
Nida Rizki
No Barring Beauty
Nida Rizki, psychologist turned beautician, had a remarkable journey helping uplift women incarcerated in a correctional facility in Canada. There, she taught them hairstyling and makeup application skills, to remind them that they were beautiful. She now makes YouTube tutorials to pass on her knowledge to others.
Safinah Danish Elahi
Hamera Aisha
Zofeen T. Ebrahim
Afia Salam
Two Fights In One
It is widely acknowledged that the climate crisis is not gender neutral - the intersections of climate and justice and feminism include the disproportionate impact of climate change and the entire climate continuum on women. Climate change developed in an unjust world, and now it’s exacerbating the vulnerabilities and inequalities experienced by women, from domestic violence to homelessness, particularly those who live in rural areas or those who are poor or otherwise disadvantaged. The panel will look at communities in grindingly desperate circumstances, like those without running water or electricity, and explore what inclusion in critical conversations would look like for them.
Haya Fatima Iqbal
Start Playing Anywhere
Her whole life, Arijah has been the only girl playing cricket on the streets with the boys of her neighbourhood. She was scouted to join the local academy with other girls pursuing the sport and quickly became one of the best players on the team. She now has the women’s national team in her sights.
Sania Saeed
Mira Sethi
Swineryy
Check-In
- Checking in with Swineryy
- Workshops Announcement
- Festival website - wowvirtual.pk
- WOW Interactive: Raniverse: Women in the digital World
Hira Ali
Effective Allyship
Hira Ali breaks down on where and how men need to be a part of the conversation on women's empowerment and how they can be part of a new, more equitable future. It's time for effective allys to step up!
Arslan Athar
Safia Minney
Khadija Rehman
Q. Sonia Kashmiri
Slow Fashion in a Fast World
As the feminist movement continues to expand in its intersectionality, there is increasing awareness that women’s rights cannot be examined without acknowledging the significance of class, sexuality, race and ability. With 80% of garment workers across the world being female, and 20 million women home-based workers in the crafts/textile space in Pakistan alone, it’s almost undeniable that fast fashion, consumption and cultural crafts is a feminist issue. Women are underpaid, overworked and subject to unsafe working conditions and the panel will explore this in the context of capitalist-patriarchy and look at local responses, both within mainstream markets and in niche spaces, as potential ways forward. This panel represents a series that was initiated in 2019 and has evolved as a key feature of how we explore production and livelihoods as a feminist issue
Yamina Peerzada
Rani ki Kahani
Yameena Peerzada reads stories for kids by voicing her Puppet Rani.
Agha Haider Ali
Lala Ahsan
Ragni
OLO Tatolo – “Ragni” will feature 10 minutes of interactive music session Music Chacha Show with Agha Haider, Lala Ahsan and Talha Jamil.
Mina Malik-Hussain
Rani ki Zabani
We have Mina telling us awesome stories about connect, family and dealing with difficult moments and emotions.
Zainab
Quaid Sae baatein
Quaid Sae Baatain is a Pakistani animated series about a young girl named Zainab, who is always thinking of ways to help and better Pakistan. In each episode, she encounters a problem, which she then solves by remembering the words and actions of Quaid-e-Azam.
Asma Mundrawala
Lady Changez Khan
The importance of Ismat Chughtai’s craft, her greatness as the grand dame of Urdu fiction and as the indomitable spirit of the Urdu short story is continually affirmed by the interest in her writing today, and by tributes paid to her by contemporaries and present day readers and writers.
Aik Shauhar ki Khatir was written in the first person and is Chughtai’s humorous account of encounters in a women’s compartment of a train, which reveals perceptions about women in pre-partition India. When a journey in solitude transforms into a cacophonic experience, the author finds herself to be the centre of attention in a female compartment of a train from Jodhpur to Bombay.
Sania Saeed
Mira Sethi
Check-In
- Workshops Announcement
- Festival website - wowvirtual.pk
- WOW Interactive: Raniverse: Women in the digital World
Fatimah Sattar
Kiran (Film + Q&A)
In between the mandalas and paisleys on the lines and pores of the bride-to-be’s palms, a Mehndi applicator finds a space for herself.
Natasha Baig
Rani Rocks
Natasha Baig is a Pakistani singer-songwriter from Hunza Valley. She sings in various genres including Sufi rock. She can sing in Urdu, Pashto, Persian, Sindhi, Saraiki, Balochi, and Burushaski language.
Jannat Ali
Reem Shariff
Dr. Moiz Awan
Myths, histories and other narratives of the Khwaja Sira community
This panel explores how language shapes identity and acceptance and how versatile activists within the Khawaja Sira community are looking to reclaim both. It explores what they have to battle with due to the different ideologies people create around different words and how they are working to recapture their historic glory
Shazia Mirza
Émigré Rani
This segment is 15 mins of jokes and anecdotes from Shazia Mirza's famous one hour show. Shazia Mirza is a British comedian with Pakistani parents. She showcases, with great talent and humour, how we can inhabit the same spaces but not the same worlds.
Sarmad Sultan Khoosat
Fatima Bhutto
The Narrative of Representation
Fatima Bhutto opens up about her writing process and the importance of representation on South Asian women writers today.
Sania Saeed
Mira Sethi
Check-In
- Workshops Announcement
- Festival website - wowvirtual.pk
- WOW Interactive: Raniverse: Women in the digital World
Wajiha Naqvi
Natasha Humera Ejaz
Ranis Rising
As part of WOW festival's closing performance 'Ranis Rising', Wajiha Ather Naqvi and Natasha Ejaz bring the festivities to an end on a beautiful note. Wajiha, with her band members Jasir Abro and Aziz Kazi, delivers a tribute to some of the iconic music Ranis/Queens from the older decades of Pakistani music history. Re-visiting some of their forgotten classics, this unique set will be a contemporary take on desi-folk tunes, reimagined through modern chill-hop/lo-fi sounds and arrangements - a current day ode to the timeless legacy of these legendary female queens from yesteryear.
Natasha has performed a number of original songs, including a few unreleased numbers, about spreading love and goodness in collaboration with Jahanzeb from KCR. The performance has some popping, hi-tech visuals and will leave you bopping to the beat!