Karmash: A Pakistani Tale at Cannes

When Aleem Bukhari, a quiet filmmaker from Hyderabad, received a call from an unknown number, he assumed it was a food delivery rider. It turned out to be a call from France. Cannes, to be precise.

The soft-spoken director hadn’t set out to conquer Cannes. In the bustling lanes of Hyderabad, he just wanted to tell a story—one woven from fading threads of memory and tradition. Karmash came to life in the quiet corners of Aleem’s mind, shaped by the imagined journey of the last heir of a forgotten tribe, wandering through ruins both real and imagined.

Meanwhile, hundreds of kilometers away in Gwadar, Irfan Noor believed in Aleem’s vision. Together, they pooled their modest resources, hoping to keep costs under 15,000 rupees. “We made this film without any support,” Irfan recalls, still incredulous. “In the end, it cost us around 50,000 rupees. Most people refused to believe it.”

The film, a blend of magic realism and horror, follows its lone protagonist as he clings to ancestral rituals, his memories dissolving into madness. “What you’re watching is his story unraveling—that’s the film,” Aleem explains.

They submitted Karmash to festivals, expecting little. Then came the call—from France, again. “I almost ignored it—thought it was another delivery guy,” he laughs. But it was Cannes, inviting them to premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight, alongside global talents.

On May 22, 2025, at the Théâtre Croisette in Cannes, Karmash, subtitled in English and French, stood proudly among international contenders. “You make films for yourself,” Aleem says. “Not for Cannes. Not for anyone else.”

And yet, against all odds, Karmash didn’t just arrive at Cannes—it carried the spirit of Pakistani storytelling from Hyderabad’s streets and Gwadar’s shores to the world’s grandest cinematic stage.

Proof that the quietest stories often echo the loudest.