Barzakh: Fawad Khan-Sanam Saeed’s Series is The Only South Asian Show to be Premiered at France’s Series Mania Festival

Barzakh, which translates as 'obstacle' or 'purgatory', will be screened as part of the International Panorama line-up, a 12-title competitive section, and is also nominated in several categories such as Best Series, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor as well as the Student Jury award and the Audience award.

Fawad Khan and Sanam Saeed, the lead pair of the popular Pakistani drama Zindagi Gulzar Hai, are reuniting for Churails director Asim Abbasi’s next Barzakh, which will have its global premiere at the Series Mania festival in France. A Zindagi Original, the Pakistani show is produced by Shailja Kejriwal and will see Fawad, one of the most popular actors in the sub-continent, in the role of a single parent battling guilt and loss.

Sanam plays the central female character who is mysterious as well as compassionate in the show which blends together magical realism and supernatural fantasy within a family reunion setting and deals with themes of love, loss, and reconciliation. Barzakh, which translates as ‘obstacle’ or ‘purgatory’, will be screened as part of the International Panorama line-up, a 12-title competitive section, and is also nominated in several categories such as Best Series, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor as well as the Student Jury award and the Audience award.

“At its core, Barzakh is a family drama framed within a world of supernatural beings and otherworldly events. The genesis of the story stemmed from a personal loss and the fears that came with it, making me realise that love is indeed eternal and nudging me to write a story about it.

“The selection of Barzakh at the Series Mania is such a momentous yet humbling occasion for all of us, not only because it’s a show that’s so close to my heart but also because the selection is such a strong validation of our belief in this story which is now finding its way amongst the best in the world,” Abbasi said in a statement.

Held annually at Lille in France, the Series Mania festival, since its inception in 2010, has been instrumental in recognizing and curating the best series across the world. Producer Kejriwal said the series was conceptualised during the pandemic “when all pre-defined notions of love, life, death and beyond” went through a seismic shift. “Set in the Hunza valley with its myths and legends, Asim Abbasi’s quirky, funny, deeply philosophical, and layered writing, a dollop of magic realism, and bringing Fawad Khan back…all added up to a show that needed to be made.

“I’m very thrilled as Barzakh not only finds its title but also becomes the only series from our region to make it to the Series Mania Festival. We feel its selection at the festival is the perfect first step on the global journey the series is set to embark on”, she said.

Zindagi Gulzar Hai introduced Fawad and Sanam to Indian audiences and continues to be one of the most loved Pakistani dramas in the country, followed by Fawad and Mahira Khan’s “Humsafar”.

Abbasi shot to global fame with his Netflix film Cake and gained further acclaim with Zindagi’s show Churails, a show that told stories of women from different strata of Karachi and how they come together to fight social evils through a secret detective agency.

— except for the headline, nothing else has been changed in this PTI story