Ghost School
2025 Pakistani film
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ghost School is a 2025 drama film directed, produced, and written by Seemab Gul in her directorial debut. It stars Nazualiya Arsalan as Rabia, a ten-year-old girl who tries to uncover the reason why her school is closed. It had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on 8 September.
- Seemab Gul
- Steffen Gerdes
- Dorothe Beinemeier
| Ghost School | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Seemab Gul |
| Written by | Seemab Gul |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | Nazualiya Arsalan |
| Cinematography | Zamarin Wahdat |
| Edited by |
|
| Music by | Anna Bauer |
Production companies |
|
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Countries |
|
| Language | Urdu |
Premise
In a rural village, ten-year-old Rabia searches for the reason her school, the only one in the village, has been closed. As rumors of supernatural forces spread through her community, she becomes determined to uncover the truth behind the closure.[1]
Cast
- Nazualiya Arsalan as Rabia
- Samina Seher as Rabia's mother
- Adnan Shah Tipu
- Vajdaan Shah
Production
Gul began developing a feature film project titled Haven of Hope.[2] While working on it, she decided to self-fund another project which eventually became Ghost School.[3] The project received a €25,000 completion grant from the MOIN Film Fund.[4] It also received a post-production grant from the Red Sea Fund.[5]
In an interview with Variety, Gul revealed that the film was inspired by her travel to Pakistan in 2022, where she encountered many "ghost schools" in Sindh and Balochistan.[6] The term refers to abandoned school buildings that were originally intended to function as schools but are no longer in use, often due to neglect or corruption.[7] She further explained to The Indian Express that she wanted to highlight the issues surrounding female education in the country. She aimed to "develop a script that examines the cracks in the education system".[8]
Principal photography took place in Karachi in November 2024.[7]
Release
Ghost School had its world premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival at the Discovery section on 8 September.[9] Prior to its premiere, French-based MPM Premium acquired the film's international sales rights.[10] It also will screen at the Red Sea International Film Festival at the Families & Children section in December 2025.[11] The film will have its European premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2026, in the section "Generation Kplus". [12]