Nusrat delivered this keynote at the Munchen Dok Fest in Munich on May 4th, 2023. In it, he talks about the crisis of imagination plaguing the media industry and proposes many solutions. He argues for a new global mythology that includes all people. The keynote was accompanied by a synchronized video and was rapturously received. The two have been combined for this online version. Here is an excerpt from the keynote,

"We live in a world of astounding possibilities- where fact is stranger than fiction. Amongst the 4 billion people we have left out, under-represented, or caricatured in our storytelling, there are real characters, heroes, heroines, and villains that would make the Marvel Universe seem dull and boring.

The electric thrum of the streets of Tangier, the magical backwaters of Kerala, the technicolor and riveting stories of musicians from Niger, the mind-blowing tales of transcendence and survival from Syrian and other refugees, the drama of Old Delhi, the awe-inspiring, heartbreaking stories of the women in Iran and Afghanistan, the fables of my hometown of Lucknow.

All of these mysteries need unraveling. They have danger, desire, tragedy, heartache, love, loss joy, and ascendence. They are tales of Gods and Shamans, Winners and Losers, Saints and Murderers, Punks and Poets, Muses, and Magicians,  

The world is hungry for these Stories of the Gorgeous Unknown and we have the power to tell them”

WATCH THE FILM VERSION OF THE FULL KEYNOTE:

© Nusrat Durrani