Pakistan’s ‘Screen Locked’ wins best short film in Oklahoma

BROKEN ARROW, Oklahoma: Pakistani filmmaker Khalid Hasan Khan’s psychological techno-thriller SCREEN LOCKED has won the Best Short Film (Pakistan) award at the Phase IV showcase of Oklahoma’s Indie Auteur / Stay Gold Film Festival, adding another international honour to the film’s growing record.

The 28-minute film explores the darker psychological effects of digital dependency, making its latest recognition particularly timely as social-media addiction among young people becomes a major global technology and public-policy debate.

The Oklahoma award is the second major international recognition for SCREEN LOCKED in 2026. Earlier this year, the film received an Award of Merit in the Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising category at the Best Shorts Competition in La Jolla, California.

At the heart of SCREEN LOCKED is a tense therapy session involving Dr T. R. Mavani, an unconventional psychologist, and Addy, a withdrawn teenager increasingly consumed by digital obsession. As their conversation develops, deeper issues emerge, including parental neglect, emotional isolation and an intense dependence on social-media validation.

The film then takes a more unsettling turn as an invisible digital presence begins influencing the therapy session. The boundary between human consciousness, algorithms and artificial intelligence gradually becomes blurred, turning the clinical encounter into a psychological battle.

Veteran actor Alyy Khan plays Dr Mavani, while Atabik Mohsin portrays Addy.

The film’s themes have gained fresh relevance amid growing scrutiny of technology companies over the potential impact of social-media platforms on children and teenagers. The debate has increasingly moved beyond individual screen habits to questions about platform design, addiction, mental health and corporate responsibility.

SCREEN LOCKED uses the language of psychological thriller to ask a disturbing question: when technology is designed to hold our attention, when does connection become control?

The Stay Gold Film Festival has developed from Tulsa’s grassroots Indie Showcase into an international platform featuring filmmakers from around the world. Its 2026 programme has attracted hundreds of submissions, giving the Pakistani film another opportunity to reach an international audience.

Written, directed and co-produced by Khalid Hasan Khan and co-produced by Alyy Khan, SCREEN LOCKED is emerging as a distinctive example of Pakistani independent cinema tackling a rapidly evolving global issue.