A group of young women survive a siege on their home by relatives in rural Pakistan. Director Sarmad Masud heard about their true story and immediately decided to convert it into a violent contemporary Western, My Pure Land, grounded in realism and feminism.
The young women in the story had to defend their land from a militia of 200 bandits. Ultimately, they became folk heroes.
Background
Sarmad Masud was born in Bradford and moved to Nottingham with his family when he was roughly six. He tells us, “I’m currently living in London although I refuse to lose my Nottingham accent!
Mum worked full time raising five kids… Father was a Bank Manager, then the Manager of Pakistan Centre, Nottingham, before moving on to work for the City Council.”
Becoming a Filmmaker
Sarmad Masud got the film- making bug when he went to university. He remembers; “Prior to that I was on a pre-degree Art & Design Foundation course where I spent a year working out what I didn’t want to do…” which led to Samad choosing a TV & Film design degree at University.
“The course was both theory and practical based, so I really learned by doing. After graduating I spent a number of years working my way up and crewing on films in any and all capacities. I worked as; a runner, in the sound dept, camera, art dept, editor etc whilst at the same time trying to make a number of short films of my own as a writer/director.”
My Pure Land happened when Sarmad Masud pitched the film idea to famous theatre impresario, film producer and Everton Football Club Chairman Bill Kenwright. The latter agreed, immediately, to make it happen.
Filmmaking in Pakistan compared to filmmaking in the UK.
Sarmad says, “It’s probably unfair to compare them on the basis of one experience. We were working on a tiny budget in remote areas in some pretty extreme circumstances. I would say it’s important to create institutions and a mentality where knowledge can be gained and shared.
Within the UK each department has sub departments and people have trained for years to get to where they are. We need to respect the profession, the craft and the discipline required to be good at this or at anything. The good news is that there’s clearly a hell of a lot of passionate filmmakers out there, which bodes well for the future.”
In film, TV and radio, projects get made on the strength of a pitch. Enterprising people with connections often raise their own funds and crews to make their projects happen. Sarmad Masud tells us he is yet to win another pitch, so it is commendable that he created this film with Bill Kenwright.
But filming in remote corners of South Asia is a dicey operation, with a high risk for those involved. On this shoot one disgruntled extra opened fire on the whole set, though no one was injured.
How did Sarmad Masud ensure security in the making of My Pure Land?
“A friend of my Uncle ran a security firm, so through him we had two armed guards with us on set at all times, plus (don’t tell anyone) but our driver also had a pistol under his seat. The truth is you can’t legislate for something crazy happening. We did our best to try and remain under the radar and be respectful to anyone working on the film and the locals in the area we filmed in.”
The Casting Process
Sarmad Masud and his team held numerous casting sessions visiting Universities, Colleges, theatre groups, and film studios.
He says, “I was always open to street casting. If we were out filming and I saw someone who looked interesting I would do my best to get them on camera. I really wanted the film to have an authentic and believable look. It made sense if we were filming in a village to then put the local villagers in the film. Easier said than done, but in principle that was always my motto. However making the final choices were always easy – trust your guy, you know when the right person walks in through the door.
The Future
Sarmad is currently writing a feel- good, interesting- sounding sports film. “Plus I have two more films set in Pakistan I would like to make. I would also like to work more in TV, and of course try and get myself over to Hollywood-land…”
