# Director of Sufi Trance Doc on Immersing in Pakistani Shrine Town: ‘I Became Part of Its Rhythm’

Filmmaker Umair Bilal discusses his documentary ‘As Light as Air,’ which explores a Sufi shrine town in Pakistan. Bilal says he surrendered to the local rhythm while capturing the trance-like spiritual culture, and the film premiered at the Locarno festival.

**Importance:** 2/5

## Sources

### Entertainment
- [Variety](https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals/sufi-trance-as-light-as-air-locarno-1236826269/) — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 13:06:21 +0000