The Streets Are Ours: Two Lives Cross in Karachi

Mahmud and Mirza meet for the first time in Karachi, Pakistan. Mahmud, activist, self-proclaimed geek and founder of the progressive arts cafe The Second Floor (T2F), invites Mirza to screen some of her short films and perform an excerpt of her one-woman play, Me, My Mom and Sharmila at her Karachi-based cafe. Due to the LGBTQ content of Mirza's work, Mirza never imagined performing in her parents' homeland. The response is so positive that Mirza is asked to return to Pakistan by NAPA and The United States Embassy in Pakistan, to present a three-city tour of the entire play. A one-woman show about a lesbian is unprecedented in Pakistan, and despite her fear, Mirza goes. (Nashville Film Festival)