Reserved, Bani Abidi

In the short film Reserved, artist Bani Abidi addresses the most basic levels of Pakistani society to uncover how the state interferes in everyday lives. The plot seems simple: A city comes to a halt awaiting the arrival of a state dignitary. Traffic is blocked for the motorcade. School children hold paper flags to wave as the cars pass by. Bureaucrats pace anxiously on a red carpet.

However, the story is nuanced. Abidi focuses the narrative on the common people rather than the dignitary. The halt of traffic for the motorcade becomes a moment for onlookers to share a cigarette or sell goods. The uniformed school children refuse to obey their teachers and run to a passing ice cream vendor. Through intense attention to things at the periphery of the scene, Abidi brings a visual poetry to her subjects. This subtle observation reveals the solidarity of resistance against the state.