I went out to meet my friends Haider Ali and Ali Salman Anchan of Phool Patti for a halwa puri breakfast in Anarkali. It was fun catching up a bit. They are on their way to India to share their amazing art.After breakfast, we walked through new Anarkali to Lohari Gate in the walled city and had some tea. From there we walked through the old city and came out the other side by the Lahore Fort. I walked them to the entrance of the fort then head out to Evernew Studios to meet Nomi to discuss shooting “Risalo”. He had just come off a busy production schedule, but we sat down and watched the entire animatic I had put together. He seemed happy to see that things were properly planned and quickly approaching being ready to shoot. He had since decided to switch which camera we would use, which I think is fine as it will save a lot on budget and still give us excellent quality for our needs.He had not put together any of the budget materials, so we still need to work that out and it looks like we will try for shooting a portion in November and then the rest in December, between his commercial responsibilities. That sounds fine. I think we are on schedule, with plenty of smaller tasks to do in the next few weeks so that we can shoot this film.Afterwards, I head to Delhi Gate and the Landa Bazaar. I picked up some interesting cloth for a river scene and lots of shiny gold buttons for treasure. I need to pick up a bunch of props in Multan during the time I’ll be auditioning some puppeteers and working to prepare them for the unique challenges with the way we are approaching puppetry for “Risalo”. There are so many bits and pieces to put together for each aspect of the film. There is very little momentum on any tasks when I am not directly involved at the moment. That is a huge challenge, but by providing a solid plan for all details of the project, I hope to create a strong production that each artist can add to during the process. It is just a lot of work to get to that point. The latest animatic has been a huge step in that direction.I spent the rest of the evening with Haider Ali and his friends. We grabbed some ice cream at Chaman and walked around Mall rd. There was a lot of talk regarding all the challenges and obstacles to being able to flourish with your art. I listened mostly. I certainly agree, but I was more interested in ice cream after the last few weeks of pushing to get this latest animatic together. I can’t just dwell on the obstacles if I am going to bring all these elements together and make this film happen.