October 14, 2025
The Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities and Social Sciences (MGSHSS) is delighted to announce that Tabish Habib, Visiting Faculty in Comparative Literature and Creative Arts (CLCA), has had his short film Time After Time selected for the prestigious 16th Edition of the Chicago South Asian Film Festival (CSAFF). The film is one of only three Pakistani films chosen for this year's festival.
A Personal Journey Through Fatherhood
Written and directed by Habib, Time After Time is his second short film and represents a deeply personal exploration of fatherhood. "The story follows a protective father who loses his daughter while playing in their garden and unwittingly goes on a journey through time to find her," Habib explains. "It's an ode to good fathers and metaphorically looks at the struggles faced by parents in trying to keep up with their children's rapid growth from childhood to adulthood."
The film features an impressive cast, including Ali Junejo and Rasti Farooq—the lead duo from Pakistan's 2022 Oscar entry Joyland—alongside Maha Hasan and Hina Bayat.
MGSHSS Students at the Heart of Production
Five MGSHSS students worked on the production of Time After Time, playing integral roles throughout the five-day shoot. "All five students applied the skills they acquired in class admirably," Habib notes with pride. Two of these students, Minahil Noor and Abhrahim Iqbal Khan, have since graduated and gone on to create their own short film, House of Rain, which has been selected for the DC South Asian Film Festival.
Festival Circuit Success
Beyond CSAFF, Time After Time has been selected for the Simurgh Festival in Lahore (October 3-12, 2025) and the Gandhara International Film Festival in Karachi (October 17 - November 2, 2025), where the film won Best Film and Best Director awards, marking a significant milestone in its journey.
Reflecting on the importance of international film festivals, Habib shares: "Film festivals like CSAFF and DCSAFF are extremely important as they allow young filmmakers to not only find a larger audience for their films but also create opportunities to be part of a larger network of filmmakers, industry professionals, and distributors who are looking for fresh original stories. While support in Pakistan is growing for young artists, these international film festivals have a more established and organized industry which not only allows for more cultural exchange but also creates a lot of opportunities for young filmmakers to get funding for future projects."
We congratulate Tabish Habib and our talented students on these remarkable achievements and look forward to celebrating their continued success in the world of cinema.
