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Karachi to Hollywood February in History Karachi to Hollywood: Pakistani visual effects artist wins third Oscar The recognition from the industry for Pakistani February 25, 1948: visual effects artist, 38-year-old Mir Zafar Ali, has Urdu was declared the been nothing short of a dream come true. His latest national language of Pakistan. Academy Award, for Frozen, was the first in the animation category for the Walt Disney Animation February 21, 1956: Studios. Constituent Assembly decides the country shall be a Federal Ali’s first Oscar came for The Golden Compass in Republic known as Islamic 2008.Ali’s forte is to mainly recreate natural Republic of Pakistan. phenomena such as water, fire, destruction and snow as well as visually recreate fantasy. His second February 24, 1960: Academy Award came last year for the Life of Pi, a most of the commercials we had were for these Presidential Cabinet decides movie based on Yann Martel’s acclaimed novel. damn pesticides!” to name the new Capital as Ali grew up in Karachi watching a wide range of Islamabad. films and was particularly interested in science- It was in July 1999 that he took the courage to start fiction and fantasy movies. Jurassic Park was his again and enrolled in a BFA programme at Savan - February 16,1971: first main inspiration. “It completely blew me away!” nah College of Art and Design (SCAD). This one Korakaram Highway, linking he said. step went a long, long way from Karachi to China and Pakistan, opened. Hollywood. “My family was very supportive of my He studied at the BeaconHouse School Systems decision and that was a huge thing considering that What’s inside: and always wanted to go to art school. “But back in most of my relatives thought this was just a hobby the day, going to art school wasn’t thought of as a and a waste of time.” good career move hell, it’s still not thought of as a F Pakistan's Sharmeen good career move,” he admitted. As a result, it took In the last quarter at SCAD, one of his professors, Obaid Chinoy: The Oscar him a while to figure out what he wanted to do. Garman Harigstad, who he says he owes much of double winner his success to, told him about an entry-level visual In A’ Levels, the visual effects artist studied what fx artist position at Digital Domain. F 'Cholistan Jeep rally many students do out of a lack of a better choice magnifying Pakistan's soft science. After that he enrolled in university to study Ali compiled a demo reel of his best work on image' computer science. “But in my last year, I realised I projects at SCAD and sent it over. Two weeks after, wasn’t fit for regular software engineering.” he was on his way to Los Angeles to work on The Day After Tomorrow. F Pakistan-born scientist played part in discovery of Ali veered off into AutoCAD and 3d studio max Since he brought a tsunami to New York in The Day gravitational waves classes, which “pretty much sealed the deal.” He didn’t bother looking for a regular software engineering job After Tomorrow, Ali has given X-men’s Banshee his sonic scream and made monsters rise from the sea Four Pakistanis recognised after graduating and instead took a short course in F in Percy Jackson. in Forbes '30 Under 30' sculpture at the Indus Valley School of Art and Archi - list tecture and started looking for jobs in 3d animation. “I was lucky enough to land at Sharp Image one of the Now when he comes to Karachi he is not known as best visual fx and post production houses in Pakistan.” the crazy kid who wanted to study art but as the F Three Pakistanis crazier man who created fantasy worlds that people shortlisted for world’s In the two years that Ali worked in Karachi, he took back home love to lose themselves in. biggest photography up countless commercials, from Safeguard to By Abdullah Sheikh BS433808 contest pesticides in farm lands. “I hated spring because Courtesy: Express Tribune Positive Post is published to project positivity all around Pakistan amongst our youth and the entire nation. Our efforts are to inculcate patriotism and a sense of ownership in them. It is a compilation of news extracted by the students of Mass Communications and Media Studies of Greenwich University. Pakistan's Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy: The Oscar double winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, 37, has made his - tory as the only Pakistani to win two Oscars. She made headlines in Pakistan when her name was called at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, for best short sub - ject documentary film of the year. She walked up to the stage to accept the award, waved her Oscar triumphantly and said: "I have another one!" The film, A Girl in the River - The Price of victims remain unknown. Forgiveness, highlights the issue of honour This is why Ms Obaid Chinoy chose it as killings in Pakistan. It traces the story of an the subject for her latest film. 18-year-old woman, Saba, who was shot by In her acceptance speech, she said that after her relatives to redeem their family honour, and dumped into a river. She miraculously seeing the film, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has vowed to change the law survived to tell her story. on honour killings. The subject of honour killings is not dis - "That is the power of film," she said. cussed much in Pakistan - mainly because most of the crimes go unreported and the By Abdullah Sheikh BS433808 Courtesy.bbc.news 'Cholistan Jeep rally magnifying Pakistan's soft image' Managing Director, Tourism Development Corporation Punjab difficulties spectators faced so that such problems do not recur. He (TDCP), Ahmar Malik said on Tuesday that the mega car sport said that he has instructed officials to start making arrangements event was magnifying the soft image of the country and the TDCP for the 12th jeep rally three to four months before the scheduled was making efforts to ensure participation of foreign car racers in date. future events of the annual Cholistan desert race. He said that 12th annual jeep rally would be held in 2017 and a Talking to APP, Ahmar said that number of female racers' partic - proposal was under discussion to introduce a 500 kilometer long ipation was rising gradually in the Cholistan Desert Jeep race track that would pass through three districts of Bahawalpur division. By Nida Latif BS485390 Rally and the spectators who opt for desert tourism on the eve of Courtesy: www.dailytimes.com.pk race near historical Derawar fort was also witnessing continuous surge every year. To a question about participation of foreign car racers, the MD TDCP cited some difficulties like arrivals of two sports vehicles along with every foreign racer besides spares and their own expert mechanics. Moreover, issues related to customs and expenses on transportation of vehicles would also have to be addressed. Ahmar Malik, however, added that TDCP was working on tackling these hurdles and spectators would soon witness foreign racers rais - ing Cholistan dust in future races. He said that the 11th Cholistan Jeep rally concluded successfully, however, TDCP officials have also taken into account the 2 Don't need it? Leave it here: Peshawar gets Pakistan-born scientist played part in its own version of Deewar-i-Meherbani discovery of gravitational waves Most of the walls in the posh Serve Mankind and set up the neighbourhood of Hayatabad wall. are drab structures of white and People in terror-torn Khyber concrete; others have no paint Pakhtunkhwa (KP) might be at all. A bright yellow wall, adversely affected by day-to- breaking the monotony, stands day violence, but are always out with the curious addition of willing to help each other out, clothes, hanging in various Lodhi believes. The general colours and sizes. public, in fact, has responded with overwhelming generosity, This is Peshawar’s wall of kind - bringing clothes for men, ness, a charity wall installed on Pakistani-born astrophysicist Dr holes some 1.3 billion years ago women and children, undergar - the main road. Any passerby, Nergis Mavalvala was among and had been hurtling through ments, shawls, jackets and coats. who wishes to donate used the team of eagled-eyed space to reach Earth on Sep - There are also some shoes, bags clothes for the homeless and scientists who, for the first time, tember 14, 2015. and purses and wallets. observed ripples in the fabric of poor, is welcome to drop them Dr Mavalvala, 47, was born to a spacetime called gravitational off here. “Some people have even Parsi family in Karachi where waves. she did her primary schooling. The detection announced only She attended the Convent of on Thursday confirms a major Jesus and Mary before going to prediction of Albert Einstein’s the US as a teenager where she 1915 general theory of relativity graduated with a BA in physics and opens an unprecedented and astronomy from the Welles - new window onto the cosmos. ley College in 1990. Professor Mavalvala worked During her graduation at the with researchers at the US- Massachusetts Institute of based underground detectors Technology (MIT) she started Laser Interferometer Gravita - working on gravitational waves tional-wave Observatory which would lead her to one of (LIGO) Laboratory to build so - the biggest discoveries of the phisticated sensors to detect century. gravitational ripples created By Nida Latif BS485390 from the collision of two black Courtesy: Express Tribune FAST students win top positions in design contest Teams from FAST-NUCES, sign competition.
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