Tigers

Danis Tanović : 2014

Two filmmakers return from a research trip to Pakistan, troubled by inconsistencies in the story they are writing. They ask their subject Ayan, a young Pakistani salesman, to tell his story to their financiers' lawyer, on the record. If his story is true, and he can prove it's true, they can make the film. If not, the huge corporation whose methods they are attacking, could destroy them. Ayan is a young, recently married salesman who gets a job peddling locally made drugs to pharmacies and doctors. Despite the fact that the Pakistani-manufactured pharmaceuticals he sells are much cheaper than those sold by Western competitors, no one will trust or buy products that lack major brand names. His wife encourages him to apply for a job with Lasta, a large multinational, and Ayan is hired on a trial basis. It's not long before his natural charm and sales skills make him into a minor star, and Lasta then expands his responsibilities. However, one day he is devastated to see at first-hand what the selling of baby formula really means in certain cases. Shocked, Ayan sets out to challenge the system and the powers that be. A western TV crew make the documentary about his story and take him to Germany to promote it. He's promised he will return to Pakistan as a hero, but on the night of transmission, his former employers reveal a dark secret and suddenly it seems Ayan's story must go untold. Shaken by the true complexities of Ayan's experiences, the filmmakers realise they must tell the whole story, warts and all. But they too will soon discover the real power of a multinational corporation. Can the truth ever be told? Danis Tanović's feature premiered in competition at Toronto International Film Festival 2014.