Pakistani-American writer-director Mahnoor Euceph‘s Oscar-qualified live action short “Eid Mubarak” has clinched a brace of distribution deals.
Sales agent Ouat Media has sold the film to KIS KIS – keep it short, which will launch the film on YouTube in select territories on Nov. 18, and to streaming service Kanopy, the on-demand streaming video platform for public and academic libraries, where it will launch in early 2024.
In “Eid Mubarak,” Iman, a privileged Pakistani girl, goes with her family to buy a goat, as is the tradition in Pakistan before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Azha. She picks the cutest one, and takes it home. She spends all of her time with the goat, whom she names Barfi, after her favorite Pakistani dessert. Soon, however, she realizes that Barfi is not a pet, but a goat being raised for slaughter. She makes a plan to save Barfi’s life before he can be sacrificed on Eid. Along the way, through the help of her family and friends, she learns the true meaning of sacrifice, and the reason behind Eid al-Azha.
Euceph said: “I made this film as a love letter to the country I once called home, to the religion that taught me how to be a human with humanity, and to my family who are the beginning and end of everything. For non-Muslims, I hope this film is educational. For Muslims, I hope it is reflective. And I hope, for everyone, it is a reminder of childhood, and that magical, wondrous world we leave behind when we grow up.”
“Eid Mubarak” won the jury award for live action short at the New York International Children’s Film Festival, qualifying the film for Oscars consideration this year. It has played over 40 film festivals including CAAMFest, SXSW Sydney, Tasveer, Atlanta ShortFest and ShortShorts Film Festival and currently holds a total of 13 wins.
The film is is written, directed and produced by Euceph, a UCLA and USC graduate who has worked with Pakistani Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy. Producers are Kamil Chima, Ben O’Keefe and Selena Leoni. Rohi Mirza Pandya is an executive producer on the film with her industry consultancy Box Office Guru Media.
Ouat Media has represented three Oscar winners and 12 Oscar nominees and additionally “Eid Mubarak” has an awards campaign led by Adam Segal of The 2050 Group, the publicity agency that had 20 Oscar shortlisted and seven Oscar nominated films in the 2022-23 awards season.
