Forbidden Fruit

‘Forbidden Fruit’ tells the story of pigs living in the heart of Islamabad which literally means “City of Islam”. Islam forbids the consumption of pigs and considers them unclean. Culturally it is so extreme that some people do not even utter the word “pig” for fear of contaminating themselves. In the native dialect, the pigs are called Barla in order to avoid saying its name. Barla means “Outsider”. We explore the incongruous existence of pigs in a country like Pakistan by following a sow, a boar, a Christian pig hunter and a Muslim wildlife ranger in an observational style wildlife documentary. The film aims to utilise the pig as a symbol of the ‘other’, subtly referencing history, literature, religion and media. It is a tongue-in-cheek take on that age-old human affliction – Xenophobia.