NEW YORK: The first-ever film festival outside Pakistan screening top-rated Pakistani movies will be held in New York from Dec 3 to 4. The event will be organised by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations, a press release by the mission here said.

The two-day Pakistan Film Festival will take place at the prestigious Asia Society, with showings of some of the finest films coming out of Pakistan at a time when cinema is undergoing an extraordinary revival in the country.

The films include two brand-new ones, which will premiere in New York, Dobara Pher Say and Lahore Say Agay. Others will include Actor in Law, Pakistan`s Oscar nomination, Mahe Meer, Oscar award winner Sharmeen Obaid`s animated film, 3 Bahadur, Dukhtar, Dance Kahani and Ho Mann Jahan.

The festival is part of the continuing effort by Pakistan`s UN Mission, led by Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, to project the country`s soft face.

Talking about the festival Ms Lodhi said: `Young filmmakers in Pakistan are producing an incredibly diverse and entertaining array of movies which are contributing to the cultural renaissance under way in the country which is also reflected in the profusion of creative voices found today in Pakistan`s art, music, literature and the media.

`We are bringing some of Pakistan`s movies to New York so that diplomats from 193 countries at the UN also have an opportunity to see what the country`s entertainment industry is producing, she added.