Jawad Sharif

Jawad Sharif (born October 23, 1987) is a Pakistani documentary filmmaker, producer and activist. He is best known for his independent documentary films that explores the often-ignored social subjects. The truthful storytelling in Jawad's documentaries has made him an accomplished filmmaker, not only in his country but amongst the contemporary independent filmmakers around the globe.[1] His most recent project, Indus Blues (2018) is a documentary about struggling musicians and craftsmen and their dying art which is suffering in the wake of widespread religious fanaticism.[2][3] It also depicts the epidemic of social taboo has made the music industry suffer in the country where performing arts and artists are already becoming extinct.[4] The film created waves in both local and international media upon the release and initiated the much-needed debate about the radicalization of the society in Pakistan.[5] It begs numerous national and international awards and has successfully brought the artists and their instruments to mainstream through its screenings around the world.[6]

Jawad Sharif
Sharif at the CPH:DOX Film Festival in March 2019
Born (1987-10-23) October 23, 1987
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
OccupationFilmmaker, activist
Years active2006-present
Known forIndus Blues
Websitewww.jawadshariffilms.com

Indus Blues won Grand Jury Prize for Crystal Award for Best Documentary Feature at GUAM International Film Festival and won the Gold Award at Spotlight Doc Awards. It also bags Best Direction and Cinematography Awards at Jaipur International Film Festival.[7] In addition to that, film has been nominated in several prestigious official selections including CPH:DOX Film Festival 2019.[8]
Jawad's first documentary, K-2 and The Invisible Footmen as Cinematographer & Editor won International Awards including Audience Award at Pakistan International Mountain Film Festival, Best Documentary at Salento International Film Festival in 2015 & several nominations.[9] Breathtaking visuals and skillful high-altitude filming of Sherpas at the toughest mountain in the world did not only hold audience's attention but also raised awareness about the living condition of these unsung heroes of K-2.[10]

Early life

Jawad was awarded a scholarship at The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Theater, Film and Television in 2016. He is an alumnus of Swedish Institute and Institut Fur Auslandsbeziehunge, Germany. Jawad is also Festival Director of Asia Peace Film Festival[11] and jury member of the Jaipur Library Academy Awards, India[12]

Film career

In 2012, he directed feature documentary Beyond the Heights, which is about a young Pakistani Mountaineer Samina Baig, who became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest at the age of 22.[13] Jawad has worked as a cinematographer and editor in the award-winning feature documentary K2 and the Invisible Footmen (2015) which documents the overwhelming lives and efforts of Pakistani porters, who for decades have facilitated the ascent to mountaineers from around the world on the Earth's second-highest mountain.[14]
His recent feature documentary Indus Blues (2018), a musical feature documentary highlights the plight of the folk musicians and craftsmen of Pakistan and the state of their dying art. Through his journey of a thousand miles, Sharif takes us through the rugged mountains in the north to the sandy beaches and pristine coastline in the south, only in search of Pakistan's folk treasures.[15][16] In an interview with Arab News, Jawad mentioned: “In a country riddled with political turmoil, economic challenges, and social identity crisis, musicians and instrument craftsmen find it hard to survive and sustain their art. We have to share these hidden gems. The world should know that Pakistan is a home of beautiful instruments and musicians”[17]

Activism

Outspoken and upfront Jawad Sharif is an advocate of free speech. In his interview to the WOMEX he mentioned that how he used music as shelter for dialogue and added: “Freedom of expression is almost non-existent in Pakistan. It is complicated to talk about sensitive topics such as religion or state openly without repercussions. So yes music, was definitely a kind of shelter and tool through which we could have a covert dialogue on sensitive topics with the artists and have them open up more. Having said that, parts of the film (Indus Blues) which touch upon religion when it comes to music have been censored in Pakistan, whereas, only an edited version of the film is screened.”[18]
On another occasion in 2018, Jawad said in an interview: “We have started censoring ourselves. We are afraid of thinking out of the box and challenging norms. The investors have a difficult time putting their faith in anything other than melodramatic stories and formula films. We need to have frequent dialogues on different forums about this and we need to value the freedom to create and express before it is too late.”[19]

Themes and styles

Jawad's films primarily revolve around identity crisis, existentialism, religious and cultural pressures, day-in-day-out human struggles, resistance, and fear & will to survive. According to him, his films reflect on his own emotions and truthfully documents despair and injustice in the society. Furthermore, he addressed the burning question of identity crisis, extremism and resistance in the Pakistani society through his films.[20]
Regarding the hardships of being a musician in Pakistan, Jawad mentioned in his interview to VOA Urdu that the resistance our musicians face, not only in our society but within their own families. He said he could: “personally relate to this resistance as well since being a filmmaker myself, I have faced the same from my family. They also wish I would get a ‘real & respectable’ job.”[21]

Awards and nominations
YearAwardCategoryWorkResult
2015Pakistan International Mountain Film FestivalAudience AwardK2 & the Invisible FootmenWon
BBVA Mountain Film FestivalJury PrizeWon
Rio Mountain FestivalBest FilmWon
Salento International Film FestivalBest DocumentaryWon
2016Jaipur International Film FestivalBest Cinematography Award and Best Sound & Editing AwardWon
Pakistan Calling Film FestivalBest International FilmWon
2018Guam International Film FestivalCrystal Award Best Feature DocumentaryIndus BluesWon
Spotlight Documentary Film AwardsGold AwardWon
Top Indie AwardsBest DocumentaryWon
Regina Film FestivalBest Documentary FeatureNominated
South Film & Arts Academy FestivalBest Documentary FeatureWon
2019Jaipur International Film FestivalBest Feature Documentary & Best Cinematography AwardWon

References
  1. Ahmed, Maheen. "Singing the Indus Blues: Meeting Documentary Filmmaker Jawad Sharif". Kluchit. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  2. Ahmad, Omair. "'Indus Blues' Documents Musical Traditions Dying out in Pakistan". The Wire. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  3. Mahmood, Naazir. "An elegy to music". The News. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  4. Gokhale, Veena. "Portraits of Cultural Decline and Resilience in Films from Pakistan". Montreal Serai. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
  5. Sabeeh, Maheen. "Still got the Blues". The News. Retrieved 20 October 2019.
  6. Kamal, Maahir. "The trailer of Jawad Sharif's stunning feature film "Indus Blues" is all over online with 50 million cumulative reach". ADP Prime. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  7. Parveen, Aqsa. "Pakistan's Documentary Film Wins Two Awards in India". ACE News. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  8. News, Entertainment. "Pakistani film 'Indus Blues' makes it to international film festival nominations". Pakistan Gulf Economist. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  9. "K2 and the Invisible Footmen". Journeyman Pictures.
  10. Rafi, Haneen. "This documentary shines the spotlight on K2 porters". The Dawn. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  11. "Jawad Sharif (Pakistan)". DaFilms.
  12. "JURY MEMBERS" (PDF). World Largest Film Library.
  13. Anwer, Zoya. "Beyond The Heights shows brave face of Pakistani women, says film-maker". DAWN. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  14. Imran Sadiq, Mashal. "Khayaal Festival Day 2 - A New Era of Filmmaking in Pakistan". Youlin Magazine. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  15. "Indus Blues, documentary about Pakistan's forgotten musical heritage, screens in Islamabad". UAE Times. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  16. "Award-winning Pakistani documentary 'Indus Blues' screened at PNCA". Daily Times. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  17. Ehtesham, Amna. "Director hits the right note with film on folk music". Arab News. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  18. "PRESERVING PAKISTAN'S TRADITIONAL MUSIC LEGACY". Womex.
  19. Nazir, Zoya. "Five Questions with filmmaker". The Nation. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  20. "Pakistani youth suffer from identity crisis". DW.
  21. "Pakistani Documentary Indus Blues".
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