CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Arts & Letters

The Line of Freedom

2013 film

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ28975645
Source-derived summary

The Line of Freedom is a 2013 political drama film directed and produced by David Whitney and starring Antonio Aakeel. The film had its world premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2013. It was instantly banned in Pakistan due to the controversial depiction of its security forces and subsequently contributed to a national ban of the Internet Movie Database. The film has sparked a backlash from some titling it "anti-state propaganda" and resulted in its star Antonio Aakeel, and others who had helped in the production allegedly receiving death threats.

The film depicts the kidnapping of an activist by Pakistani Security Forces, his subsequent torture at their hands, and a failed attempt at executing in a desert location.

Plot

The film follows the true story of Nasir Baloch, a young student rights activist murdered by Pakistani Security Forces in 2011 as part of their 'kill and dump' policy in Balochistan, southwest Pakistan. Nasir Baloch is abducted and tortured by his country's security forces. Days later, he is shot and left for dead in the desert, but incredibly survives to tell his story.

Cast

Antonio Aakeel as Nasir Baloch

Mansoor Alfeeli as Pervez

Tony Hasnath as Rasool

Fatima Al Taei as Hani

Omar Malik as Gul

Nitin Mirani as Private Sajjad

Omar Bin Haider as Private Malik

Ibrahim Renno as Private Amjad

Yousuf Murad Baloch as doctor

Production

The Line of Freedom was developed by DWF productions with UNPO human rights ambassadors Noordin Mengal and Bhawal Mengal. The film was shot in September 2012 at an undisclosed location somewhere in the Middle East.

Editorial summary

“The Line of Freedom” enters the record as 2013 film. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Line, Freedom and film can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2013, 2011, 2012—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2013-11-22. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Line, Freedom and film.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“The Line of Freedom” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Line, Freedom and film provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q28975645. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013, 2011 and 2012.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Line of Freedom”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Line of Freedom primary sources, The Line of Freedom archive and Line research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Line of Freedom”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Line of Freedom” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.