Who is Saboor Akram? Recently, ProperGaanda came across a young and talented film-maker, Saboor Akram, a Lahore-based artist who also goes by the name Booray. The young and talented artist likes to call himself a ‘dreamer’. Born and raised in Quetta, the 19 year-old got his hands on a camera at the age of 13. “During that time, I didn’t own any equipment, so I borrowed cameras and tried to understand the equipment and techniques myself to click a few images”, says Booray, “This really inspired me to finally craft my own style, theme and inspiration behind every picture and film.” Booray’s passion for film-making:
The genesis of my unexpected interest in photography chimed in when I was a 6th grader. I came across a photography competition that I won and that continued the chain of participating in many more competition to gain experiences. I exercised my visions to be more authentic. I assisted in school events as an Assistant Director and Director of Photography Club. Following my participation and wins in several school and university-based competitions, including BNU and LUMS, I started commissioned work. All these experiences helped me gain the insight and stride required for making films. I learned from my highs and lows. The writings and direction allowed me to actualize my emotions and thoughts into one-man reels. My work resonated well with the audience. Saboor’s preferred genre iche:
Saboor doesn’t restrict himself to a specific niche or genre, “I do admire works and concepts of many directors like, Frames by Wes Anderson, Color Tone by Robert Eggers, Violence by Quentin Tarantino, Time by Christopher Nolan, Plot by Fincher, Characters by Martin Scorsese, and well the list goes on.” The young film maker believes that every piece has its importance in understanding life and portraying it through your lens into the eyes of the audience. He prefers to be exposed to every idea and then find his own concept around it. His thoughts about Pakistan’s film industry:
We asked Saboor’s opinion as a film-maker about the Pakistani film industry and he thinks that it lacks innovation and doesn’t take any risks, “We all are accustomed to making money rather than actually creating. I believe that our country is filled with talent required to revitalize our film industry.”
Sharing his take on film-making, Booray said, “I don’t innately take film making only as a career, and to make extravagant earning out of it. For me the only priority is, making art and introducing more ideas and concepts into our film industry.” Saboor looks forward to showcasing new cinematic and diverse experiences. Saboor’s future as a film-maker:
Booray wishes to create a healthy and more welcoming space for innovative writing, filming and directing, “I hope us artists can get to curate instinctively, by supporting each other. In my 5 years of work journey, I have encountered people who would corner me for my lack of work experience as I am quite young,” the artist however continues to push himself and explore himself to redefine his work, “I wish to continue my journey on my own terms and learn more by interacting with my community to create more authentic and relatable films.”