LAHOR E: A five-day theatre festival titling `Empowerment Through Theatre` was inaugurated at the Alhamra Cultural Complex in QadhafiStadiumhereonWednesday.

The theatrical activity was organised by the Ajoka Theatre in collaboration with the Lahore Arts Council and the CKU. Kamran Lashari, head of the Walled City Project, was the chief guest.

A fairly good number of audiences were present at the inaugural performances of the festival.

Students of Lahore College for Women University presented a mime performance which was directed by Seema Sohail. The theme of the mime revolved around the Dec 16 terrorist attack on the Army Public School, Peshawar.A brief part of Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah`s speech was also played during the mime performance.

Country`s contemporary dancer Wahab Shah and talented young dancer Sohaye Abroo presented their lyrical and magical interpretation of Faiz`s poetry.

Then there was a play by Ajoka`s Dekh Tamasha Chalta Ban which was written by Shahid Mehmood Nadeem and directed by Madeeha Gauhar.

The play was Ajoka`s powerful indictment of the religious intolerance based on case histories of victims of violent extremism.

The play, which had already been widely performed in Pakistan and in the region, was staged in the festival to mark the first anniversary of the APS victims.

The festival will feature youththeatre groups from Lahore, Hyderabad and Karachi which will include `Kaun Banney Ga Badshah` by Ajoka Theatre, `Jaloos` by Actor Studio, Karachi, `Marya Hoya Kutta` by Ajolca Theatre, `Aman aur Piyar ka Mazhab` by MURK Theatre Group, Hyderabad, `Aman aur Aag` by Government College University`s Dramatics Club, and `Lo Phir Basant Ayee` by Ajoka Theatre.

There will be a qawwali performance by Khawar Ali Group at the closing ceremony of the festival.

FILM FESTIVAL: The fourth three-day International Film Festival will open at Alhamra Art Centre on Thursday (today).

An event by the Raß Peer Theatre Workshop, the festival will feature Pakistani movies along with international films and short and animated movies. There willbe workshops, panel discussions and talks during the festival by international and local filmmakers with speakers from established industries around the world such as Bollywood and the European Cinema Industry.

This year festival will host prestigious artistes such as Om Puri, Madhur Bhandarkar, Vikas Bhal, Jami Mehmood, Sarmad Khoosat and Adnan Sawar.

The festival will showcase 70 films from six continents. An exhibition of Pakistani poster art through the ages in which students and local poster artists will come together to create a mixed media exhibition.

The festival was first initiated during the World Performing Arts festival and was given the independent festival status in 2011.