Private Project

The Trunk

In a remote town in Pakistan, a feudal lord’s loyal servant suspects his master’s wife of hiding a secret inside a trunk.

  • Fahad Shaikh
    Director
    Pinky Memsaab, M1-KØ, Ranapakhra, The Lost Jewish Garden, The Owner, The Veil
  • Ather Ali
    Writer
    The Owner
  • Idries Shah
    Writer
    The Dermis Probe
  • Fahad Shaikh
    Producer
    Pinky Memsaab, M1-KØ, Ranapakhra, The Lost Jewish Garden, The Owner, The Veil
  • Khalid Ahmed
    Key Cast
    "Dawood"
    Pinky Memsaab
  • Hajra Yamin
    Key Cast
    "Shama"
    Pinky Memsaab
  • Hammad Siddiq
    Key Cast
    "Hussein"
    Laal Kabootar
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Drama, Suspense
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 1, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Pakistan
  • Language:
    Urdu
  • Shooting Format:
    2K Cine Arri Alexa SXT
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Chicago South Asian Film Festival
    Chicago
    United States
    September 24, 2022
    North American Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Fahad Shaikh

Director/Producer Fahad Shaikh has been an aspiring media and theatre personality from his early teens.

Originally from Pakistan but studied in U.S. and went on to pursue filmmaking. His first silent short film was "A Dollar Bill" for a workshop in Houston. Growing up, he continued making many theatre plays in Texas. His independent short film "The Veil", which played at festivals around the world and received an award at WorldFest Houston Film Festival.

In 2010 he worked on an international project which was his first feature, in collaboration with 25 directors from around the world named "The Owner." The film debuted in May 2012 and got a Guinness World Record for most directors in a film. He has been a part of Scottish Documentary Film Institute and Arab Film Studio-Imagenation Abu Dhabi Documentary programs. His recent feature film is “Pinky Memsaab” as a Producer which was released in cinemas and now streaming on Netflix. He runs a production company with his partners named Shoot At Sight.

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Director Statement

"The Trunk" which is based on a mystic ancient tale by one the greatest Sufi writer Idries Shah.

I’ve managed to shoot the complete film in Pakistan. While filmmaking within itself is a challenge, the biggest one I’ve faced is to manage the whole shoot within a day due to limited funds at hand. To cater this, I did squeeze a lot including the actors’ and crew fee and sourced almost everything and everyone to work on pro-bono. Despite of this effort and a generous collaboration from my team, I’ve ended up going a bit high on my budget which is actually nothing when it comes to produce a film like this.