Music comes from all over the world. With vastly different styles and meanings, music can tell a story unto itself, and really open your eyes to seeing things in a new way.

That’s the case with
The Journey Within
, the documentary from Mian Adnan Ahmad (MFA/Film Production ’09), which will be screening this week at Dodge College.

After graduation, Ahmad’s short film
Heal
did extremely well on the international festival circuit. It opened doors for him along the way, and led him toward the opportunity to tell the story of Coke Studio.

The Journey Within
 is essentially the origin story of Coke Studio Pakistan, a platform which brings together musicians from various cultural backgrounds and genres, as they unify eastern and western sounds to make music which has resonated across the globe, making it one of the biggest music shows from South Asia.

man holding a sitar while walking


“In some way or form, we all have our identities connected through music, culture and artistic expression,” said Ahmad. “Over time, each coming generation can lose some of their own heritage in this relationship…by force, a lack of interest, and internal chaos.”

With Pakistan, which is challenged by all three and being portrayed negatively by the media, there was a greater need amongst the people to ‘identify’; Not just from outside, but also from within.

“It is this searching for and embracing of the true essence of who we are, where we come from, and the desire to break an unjust existing stereotype of Pakistan as a whole, that gave birth to a music show which hit a chord with the masses,” said Ahmad.

The film looks back at the inspiring journey of how it all started, while focusing on the show’s music. It showcases folks who were involved in its humble beginnings all the way to the musical exploration and journey that continues to this day.

Ahmad first heard of the show while he was pursuing his MFA at Dodge College.

“Circumstances in Pakistan seemed to start changing drastically during that period, so when I heard something that was so well done and, in essence, rooted in bringing to the fore our own culture and musical heritage, it really resonated with me,” said Ahmad.

poster for the journey within


A few years later, when he was given the opportunity to document the show, he worked hard to bring that feeling across in the film. He wanted to put it into context as to how something like a music show can also serve as a strong voice for reclaiming who we are.

But finding what the story was actually about took some time to come across.

“There was so much information to be gathered and literally hours on end of behind the scenes footage, which had to be scanned to learn about the process and find the heart of the story,” he said.

Ahmad credits Dodge College with helping him bring an importance to his storytelling in the film. In addition, some of the key crew members for the film were his classmates, including Dani Sanchez-Lopez (MFA/Film Production ‘09), Yukako Shimada (MFA/Film Production ‘09), Juan Carlos Diaz (MFA/Film and Television Producing ‘09) and Jeffrey Rhoten (BFA/Film Production ‘10).

The film will be screened on March 17, 2016, at 7PM in the Digital Media Arts Building.

RSVP and EVENT INFO:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1576338672689956/


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