Behind the Camera: On the Road to WAGAH
by Neha Aziz
Beating Retreat Ceremony in Wagah held daily just before sunset since 1959 by India's Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers
Pakistan is my home country, yet the story of its creation is one that few people truly understand. Until I was 27, I was one of them.
During my first trip back to Pakistan in 2017, I visited HOME 1947, an exhibition curated by two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about the Partition of India. I was horrified by what I saw. I had always known that Pakistan was once part of India, but I hadn't fully understood the violence and brutality that accompanied its creation. My parents and other family members had never really spoken about it, and I had never bothered to ask.
After leaving the exhibition, we went to the mall's food court, where, over KFC, I turned to my parents and asked, "What did I just see?" That conversation changed my life and sparked a curiosity about this history that has stayed with me ever since.
Alongside my role as Artistic Director of AAAFF, I'm also a writer and filmmaker, and I'm about to embark on a particularly personal project. Next month, I'll be traveling to Pakistan to make my second film, a documentary short called WAGAH. In many ways, it's a continuation of the work I began with my iHeartRadio podcast, PARTITION, which explores the history and lasting impact of the 1947 Partition.
The film centers on the Wagah Border, a major point of conflict during Partition and one of the few places where India and Pakistan still come face-to-face. Every evening since 1959, the border has hosted the Beating Retreat ceremony, a spectacle of synchronized military choreography, patriotic fervor, and fleeting unity between two neighboring countries.
Through this ceremony, I hope to explore the complicated relationship between India and Pakistan, our shared history, and the ways memory and identity continue to shape us generations later.
Filming is officially confirmed for next month, and it's been a whirlwind getting everything ready, especially when nearly everyone you're working with is ten hours ahead of you! I'm excited, nervous, and incredibly grateful to finally be bringing this story to life.
To follow along with WAGAH, you can find us on Instagram and visit our project page on the International Documentary Association's website.
Wish us luck!
