Make It Look Real
A local photo studio in Pakistan serves as a vibrant cultural hub where personal dreams and community connections are brought to life through photography. The filmmaker, a displaced native, partners with Sakhi, a photographer yearning for a life abroad, to explore the aesthetics and economics of image-making shaped by socio-political influences and social class. As customers enter with their unique fantasies and desires, each photograph emerges as a powerful representation of their aspirations, reflecting the intricate interplay between identity and longing.
Danial Shah is an independent documentary photographer and filmmaker from Pakistan currently based in Brussels. He is interested in issues related to human condition and the environment they interact with. He works on commission and on editorial assignments. Danial's work has been published in The New York Times, The Times London, The Daily Telegraph, Dawn (Pakistan), Herald (Pakistan), Express Tribune Magazine (Pakistan), The Wire (India), Scroll.in (India), Himal SouthAsian (Nepal), Dawn Urdu (Pakistan), and Trek&Mountain (UK). His work is represented by Getty Images.