Private Project

Catfish

A lonely office worker catfishes a masculine co-worker in a desperate attempt at companionship.

  • Abdullah Shahid
    Director
  • Zohaib Bilal
    Writer
  • Abdullah Shahid
    Writer
  • Zohaib Bilal
    Producer
  • Babar Dahr
    Director of Photography
  • Abdullah Shahid
    Editor
  • Muhammad Sufiyan Rasheed
    Key Cast
    "Hashim"
  • Gulshan Majeed
    Key Cast
    "Iqbal"
  • Sohaib Ali
    Key Cast
    "Shayan"
  • Rao Daniyal Ashraf
    Key Cast
    "Hasnain"
  • Anam Husain
    Key Cast
    "Saira"
  • Shanawar Zahoor Butt
    Key Cast
    "Saira's Friend"
  • Ramsha Bilal
    Assistant Directors
  • Punal Baloch
    Assistant Directors
  • Omer Chaudhry
    Assistant Directors
  • Zil-e-Huma
    Art Director
  • Ibtisam-ul-Haq
    Wardrobe
  • Anam Husain
    Production Assistant
  • Aymen Rizwan
    Colorist
  • Ifra Asad
    CG Artist
  • Natasha Shields
    Original Score
  • Zohaib Bilal
    Original Score
  • Aiman Rizvi
    Script Consultant
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Comedy
  • Runtime:
    34 minutes 32 seconds
  • Country of Origin:
    Pakistan
  • Country of Filming:
    Pakistan
  • Language:
    English, Urdu
  • Aspect Ratio:
    3:2
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Abdullah Shahid

Abdullah Shahid is a Pakistani director, producer, screenwriter and actor.

In 2019, he graduated with honors from Pomona College, California where he studied film theory and theater and was the recipient of the prestigious Scott Winslow Award in Media Studies as well as The Virginia Princehouse Allen Prize in Drama for his contribution to the film and theater departments. His thesis film has screened in films festivals across the world.

He has since performed in a show he co-devised at the Hollywood Fringe Festival and has been working on film projects in different capacities since 2019. He has spent the last two years as an IB DP Film Instructor in Lahore, Pakistan and is currently an incoming MFA Film Candidate at New York University's Grad Film program.

Catfish serves as his professional directorial debut.

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Director Statement

CATFISH is a satirical exploration of male homosocial relationships in the Pakistani workplace. The line between homosocial relationships and beyond is often blurred in ‘launda' (think Pakistani 'chad') culture. In a country with little to no public spaces, the workplace serves as the prime location for people to find entertainment, forge relationships and look for intimacy. Flooded by men, however, the office ends up as an extension of the playground - bullies, nerds and the like, all competing for attention.

With the ever increasing access to technology, many find themselves creating online personas especially in a country like Pakistan where there is little other space to truly express yourself.

Catfish serves to explore these ideas of the homosocial in the office space and represent a microcosm of society that often goes unnoticed in mainstream media.