ufi poets of Punjab are immensely revered for the pearls of wisdom they spread through their poetry. The Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (Pilac) is doing a commendable job by publishing new books on Sufi poets and also digging out poetry collections thathadlongbeenforgotten.

The poetry of Baba Bulleh Shah published by Pilac with Urdu translation is considered extremely important by Punjabi language and literature critics. If on the one hand Suß poets are being paid due tributes by institutes such as Pilac, on the other a lot is being done on the works of these poets through theatre.

Azad Theatre, a group from Lahore, has been staging plays for five or six years and has now come up with its new play based on poetry of the great Sufi poet, Shah Hussain. The play that isbeing staged for three days from Sept 14 to 16 at Alhamra, The Mall is a collaborative effort between Azad Theatre and the Lahore Arts Council. Written by Shabbir Jee and directed by Aslam Malik the play, according to Azad Theatre, will be a milestone in its countless efforts for the promotion of meaningful and objective theatre in the province.

I hough the World Performing Arts Festival that took place in Lahore till 2008 succumbed to terrorism and security issues for foreign artistes, yet the other local festivals are intact and Rafi Peer Theatre has been holding some festival or the other.

Preparations are underway for its upcoming festivals on foll< puppetry, Sufi, youth and film commencing in November. A week ago, Saadan Peerzada, Alina Peerzada and UsmanPeerzada from Rafi Peer held a meeting with Culture Secretary Momin Agha to discuss the festivals.

The chief minister has marked a proposal to the secretary for holdingthesefestivals.Documents are in process and hopefully final dates and the schedule will be chalked out soon.

I he Little Art announced this season`s exhibition events for 4th ArtBeatNational Child Art Competition and Exhibitions 2015 to be organised in Sir Syed Memorial Society Gallery Islamabad on Sept 16 to18 and Alhamra Art Gallery, The Mall here on Sept 30 to Oct 3.

The same selected works of children and youth would be displayed in Karachi from Oct 9 to 10.

The fourth edition of ArtBeat has so far seen nearly 16,000 children and youth participating,nine exhibitions organised across Pakistan, 10 studio workshops conducted for children with senior artists and art students, and student`s artworks promoted at public art galleries and international art exhibitions such as the Sharjah International Biennial for Children`s Arts.

This year`s theme `Kaisa Pakistan`encourages children to reflect on their identity, visualise their true culture, draw and paint how they see Pakistan. The competition received artworks from individual young artists, 210 schools and nearly 25 community organisations from across Pakistan, making it the largest participation of children the competition has ever seen.

The Little Art Director Shoaib Iqbal said: `We received a very warm response from schools all over Pakistan, and were touched by the quality of the worl< created by the children and young people this year. Each art work was unique just like each child isunique and their work greatly reflected their imagination. I am not surprised about the amount of talent and creativity our young people have and I am glad that ArtBeat is being able to reach children across Pakistan to help them present their ideas and views to the community at large.

With our continued efforts we aim to make ArtBeat more exciting for kids each year and provide many more opportunities for children to explore themselves and the world through the arts.

Winners will be awarded cash prizes worth Rs300,000 and certificates at the opening events in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

A curated show of nearly 400 artworks will be presented at the exhibitions in the cities.

I he Pakistani Academy Selection Committee has selected Moor to be submitted for Oscar considerationin the `Foreign Language Film Award` category at the 88th Academy Awards. The movie was selected by way of a secret ballot and was the overwhelming choice of committee members.

As per standard practice, films selected by each individual country`s selection committee are submitted to the Academy for screening, shortlisting and voting with official Oscar nominees announced at a later date.

In 2013, the Pakistani committee had selected Zinda Bhaagas the first Pakistani film in over 50 years to be submitted for Oscar consideration, followed by Dukhtarin 2014.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will choose the final nominees for all award categories by Jan 8, 2016.

The complete and final list of Oscar nominees will be announced on Jan14,2015.