Awais Shaukat, a 20-year-old film director and writer, unveiled the pre-release poster for his short animated film Under the Blaze.
The film deals with child labor in Pakistan.
On January 10, 2025, the poster stated that the film would be released in 2025.
Awais Shaukat, a small-town-born young visual artist from Lahore has caught attention with his developing skills. In just a month, he got to 24th rank on the Crunchbase 100 list of people and is still the most clicked in Pakistan. His passion for animation as a medium for storytelling is evident in his work.
“I think animation can be the best way to convey any message or someone’s pain to others through beautiful visuals…” Shaukat says, “To begin my own imaginary universe, this is my first project
However, Awais faces significant challenges in bringing Under the Blaze to life. Although he is currently the sole manager of the project, he is struggling with financial pressure, which puts the project at risk of halting production.
Facing this concrete challenge in addition to college life at the National College of Arts is making things even more challenging for him, despite his existing academic load.
The storyline of Under the Blaze was developed from Shaukat and his crew’s first-hand experiences visiting brick kilns, where they interacted with families whose children were engaged in child labor.
This movie is set to employ traditional 2D animation that echoes the old Disney and Studio Ghibli styles that require a lot of hand-drawn art for each and every scene. “I’m a huge fan of Makoto Shikai’s work like Your Name, Weathering with You, and Suzume,” he mentioned.
Shaukat aspires to show Under the Blaze at different international film festivals as the production moves forward. As a result, he expects to receive the needed publicity while the film’s release will make its mark, encouraging and motivating them to reach their goals in the fight against child labor in Pakistan
Featured Image: Awartsy
