World Premiere: Screening in the U.S. Documentary Film Competition

General Pervez Musharraf's 1999 coup in Pakistan and the filmmaker's identity as a Pakistani woman drives her search for democracy in Pakistan and her exploration of the role of women in society and in politics.

Dinner with the President: A Nation's Journey is our experience looking for democracy and women in Pakistan. The film has two parallel narratives that influence each other and grow symbiotically. The background to the narratives is General Pervez Musharraf's coup in 1999. My identity as a Pakistani woman governs the perspective of this film, the issues raised, the questions asked and the responses encountered. General Musharraf claims to democratize society. How will the army bring democracy in Pakistan? This question spurs our film. Intrigued by the irony implicit in the idea of a President in army uniform delivering democracy to the masses, we engage President Musharraf in a discussion about his vision, his intentions, the political past and the means by which he proposes to bring democracy to Pakistan. We discover another irony: this army general has set out to empower the dis-enfranchised, particularly women. Satha and I are intrigued by President Musharraf. Since 2001, Pakistan and President Musharraf have become a focal point for global media attention. The media propagates a simplistic portrayal of him as a dictator and Pakistan is depicted as a nation overrun by Islamic extremism; there is no deeper understanding of the actual forces and factors at work. The media accuses him of being a dictator and at the same time he is criticized for not making changes by diktat. He is pilloried as having the least interest in democracy. But he has introduced far more personal freedom than any of his democratic predecessors. President Musharraf is said to be paying lip service to the United States while harboring the Al Qaeda. But he is also blamed for heavy-handed military operations against Islamic Extremists. The view in Pakistan is rather different. These simplistic labels mask a complex character. He has helped combat the rise of Islamic extremism, and his coup staved off the Islamic revolution that threatened to take over the country. He has worked to extend the franchise and political participation to women - something unique is happening in Pakistan, and the film seeks to uncover this change. Through my personal perspective as a Pakistani woman filmmaker I document a slice of Pakistani history at a pivotal point: will President Musharraf succeed in continuing to stave off an Islamic revolution? The film is led by my voice, interactions, observations and responses. The perspective and the encounters are mediated by my identity as a Pakistani woman, trying to get a sense of a woman's place and rights in the political system of my country. The discussion with President Musharraf becomes the basis for our journey. We encounter the MMA - an alliance of religious parties, a tribal parliament, truck drivers, young elite party-goers, a Sindhi peasant woman and her husband and people on the street. We involve them in discussions on President Musharraf and democracy. Women were absent in most public places: in most conversations - for example, with the MMA and with a Jirga (tribal parliament) - I was the only woman present and talking about women�¯�¿�½s rights to men. The tone and images of myself in an all male environment are increasingly disturbing. This raises, for us, a central issue of the film - a democracy without women is a contradiction. Any attempts at democracy will be a mere pretense without women's rights, without women participating in the political process. What is the place of women in Pakistan's political system? New questions arise, and our original question changes, we discover the complexities of Pakistan and must re-define our concept of democracy after each encounter. Having dinner with President Musharraf, his wife and mother was deliberate, creating an interesting visual setting that tells us more about the man. How he eats, his comfort level, his tone, and his interaction with the women closest to him reveal volumes about his character. We think it is interesting for a foreign audience to get behind these images and perceptions, to uncover the reality from the perspective of a Pakistani woman. Through our journey, you see the Pakistan that Satha and I see, that we live in - a very different Pakistan behind the images projected in the media.

Clip Description

General Pervez Musharraf's 1999 coup in Pakistan and the filmmaker's identity as a Pakistani woman drives her search for democracy in Pakistan and her exploration of the role of women in society and in politics. Between the coup and the elections, the filmmaker's travel to the corners of Pakistan, returning to the President himself in a search for new definitions of democracy and empowerment.