Mohammed Ali Naqvi

Mohammed Ali Naqvi (Urdu: محمد علئ نقوئ‎; born 1979) is a Pakistani filmmaker based in New York City. He is known for documentaries which shed light on the socio political conditions of Pakistan, and feature strong characters on personal journeys of self-discovery.[1] Notable films include Insha’Allah Democracy (2017), Among the Believers (2015), Shame (2007), and Terror’s Children (2003).

Early life and background

Naqvi was born in Montreal, Canada, and spent his early years between Canada, Pakistan and the US. After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2001, Naqvi founded B.L.A.H Productions, an off-off-Broadway theatre company in New York, for which he produced, directed and acted in a number of plays. Naqvi identifies as a Liberal Muslim belonging to the Shia sect of Islam, which has led to his interest in exploring the lives of minorities in Pakistan.[2]

Career

In 2003, Naqvi produced Terror’s Children (Discovery Channel) in collaboration with Pakistani Emmy-Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.[3][4] The film portrays young Afghan refugees living in Pakistan post 9/11 in refugee camps and extreme poverty mediated only by the madrassa school network which provides basic necessities in return for hardline militant religious schooling.[5] The film won the Overseas Press Club Award: The Carl Spielvogel Award in 2004 and the South Asian Journalist Award in 2004.

In 2005, Naqvi produced Big River which was directed by Atsushi Funahashi.[6] The film depicted a story about cross-cultural friendship between a Pakistani man, a Japanese boy, and an American woman who meet while traveling in Arizona.[7] The film featured as an official selection at the Berlin International Film Festival (2005), the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (2006), and the Pusan International Film Festival (2005), where it was also nominated for the New Currents Award.[8][9]

In 2006, Naqvi wrote, produced and directed Shame (Paramount/Showtime), a hard-hitting documentary chronicling the life of Mukhtaran Mai, the Pakistani survivor of gang rape who went on to become a human rights activist after taking her perpetrators to trial in a landmark case.[10][11][12] The film won several awards including a Special Emmy Award (2008), the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award (2007), and the Women in Leadership Award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival (2007).[13][14]

In 2012, Naqvi directed Shabeena’s Quest (Al-Jazeera) with Hemal Trivedi. The film features the story of Shabeena, a remarkable school principal fighting for the right of girls to be educated despite age-old traditions leading to early marriages.[15]

In 2014, Naqvi directed Pakistan’s Hidden Shame (Channel 4 UK), which was produced by Jamie Doran. This documentary highlights pedophilia in Pakistan by depicting vulnerable young boys on the streets of Peshawar who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of truck drivers passing through the city. In the sexually frustrated and impoverished society lacking healthy outlets for sexual needs, boys as young as seven are prostituted for petty cash in makeshift hostels.[16][17] The film was screened at the Sheffield Doc/Fest (2014), and won Best Documentary at the United Nations Association Film Festival (2014).[18]

In 2015, Naqvi directed Among the Believers with Hemal Trivedi. It was produced by Jonathan Goodman Levitt and Hemal Trivedi, and the executive producer was Whitney Dow.[19] The documentary examines the role of the Red Mosque (Lal Masjid) and its network of religious schools (madrasas) in manufacturing militant religious sectarianism in Pakistan.[20] The film highlights Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi’s role as the leader of the Red Mosque, pushing for a hardline interpretation of Islam and Jihad.[21] As a counterpoint, the film also features the nuclear physicist and civil activist Pervez Hoodbhoy who champions a secular education system in favor of tolerant and progressive values. These differing ideologies play out in the state sanctioned vacuum of educational and financial infrastructure in poverty stricken villages of Pakistan, which the Red Mosque is quick to fill in exchange for young recruits.[22]

The film has its US premiere at Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, 2015.[23] It has since won many awards, including Best Feature at the ALBA Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Best of Fest at Chagrin Documentary Film Festival (2017), Best Documentary at Hollywood Film Festival (2015), Best International Documentary at Oaxaca FilmFest (2015), and more.[24][25]

In April 2016, the Central Board of Film Censors banned ‘’Among the Believers’’ from being screened in Pakistan, giving the reason that it “projects the negative image of Pakistan in the context of ongoing fight against extremism terrorism.”[26] Both Naqvi and co-director Hemal Trivedi received death threats after the release of the film, forcing them to go into hiding for a period of time.[27][28]

In 2017, Naqvi directed, wrote, and produced Insha’Allah Democracy with producer Jared Ian Goldman.[29] The documentary follows the controversial former military dictator of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, as he returns to Pakistan to contest in the 2013 Pakistani general election. Naqvi himself features prominently in the film, as a citizen voting in the country’s general elections for the first time. As a member of the Shia minority, Naqvi is attracted to Musharraf’s secular stance and past crackdowns on sectarian violence. The film examines the contradictions and complexities of a nascent democratic process in a country recovering from a long history of military rule.[30]

The film had its World premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest (2017), where it was nominated for the Tim Hetherington Award.[31] It has also screened at Films from the South (2017), DOC NYC (2017), IDFA (2017), FIPA (2018), Human Rights Watch Film Festival (2018), and the UK Asian Film Festival (2018).[32][33][34][35][36]

Pakistani activists in the UK called for the film to be banned from its London premiere at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival (2018), claiming that the film "legitimises and glorifies military dictatorial rules and undermines civilian/parliament supremacy.”[37] In response the Human Rights Watch released a statement saying that the film was chosen because of its criticism of military rule.[38]

Filmography
Year Title Director Producer Writer
2003Terror's ChildrenYes
2005Big RiverYes
2006ShameYesYesYes
2012Shabeena's QuestYes
2014Pakistan's Hidden ShameYes
2015Among the BelieversYes
2017Insha'Allah DemocracyYesYesYes

Awards and Nominations
Year Award Category Work Result
2004 Overseas Press Club Award The Carl Spielvogel Award Terror's Children Won
South Asian Journalist Award Won
2005 Pusan International Film Festival New Currents Award Big River Nominated
2007 EBS International Documentary Festival Korea Special Jury Prize Shame Won
Chicago Documentary Festival Human Rights Award Won
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Women in Leadership Award Won
Durban International Film Festival Amnesty International Award Won
2008 Television Academy Honor Special Emmy Award[39] Won
San Diego Asian Film Festival Best Documentary Won
2014 United Nations Association Film Festival Best Documentary Pakistan's Hidden Shame Won
2015 One World Media Annual Television Award[40] Nominated
Broadcast Awards Best News Coverage or Current Affairs Program Nominated
Asia Pacific Screen Awards Best Documentary[41] Among the Believers Nominated
International Film Festival of India UNESCO/FELLINI Prize[42] Nominated
ALBA Human Rights Documentary Film Festival Best Feature Won
Chagrin Documentary Film Festival David Ponce Award for Best Film[43] Won
CPH:DOX F:ACT Award Jury Prize[44] Won
Tasveer Seattle South Asian Film Festival Best Documentary and Audience Choice Prize[45] Won
2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Truer Than Fiction Award Nominated
Beloit International Film Festival Power of Film Award[46] Won
Documentary Edge Festival Best International Feature (Special Mention) and Best International Director[47] Won
FIFDH Grand Prix[48] Won
San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival Amnesty International Prize[49] Won
SOMA Film Festival Documentary Feature, Best Director[50] Won
2017 News & Documentary Emmy Award Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary[51] Nominated
Cinema Eye Honors Spotlight Award[52] Nominated
Impact Docs Awards Awards of Merit, Documentary Feature[53] Won
Hollywood Film Festival Best Feature Documentary Won
Sheffield Doc/Fest Tim Hetherington Award[54] Insha'Allah Democracy Nominated

References
  1. "Hemal Trivedi and-mohammed-naqvi Mohammed Naqvi". Chatham House.
  2. "Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Naqvi". Chatham House.
  3. "Terror's Children". IMDb.com. 25 March 2003.
  4. Imran, Rahat (3 June 2016). Activist Documentary Film in Pakistan: The Emergence of a Cinema of Accountability. Routledge. ISBN 9781317503392 – via Google Books.
  5. Rohde, David (7 March 2003). "A Dead End for Afghan Children Adrift in Pakistan". Nytimes.com.
  6. "Big River". IMDb.com. 20 January 2006.
  7. "Big River: A tale of ethnicity and friendship – The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. 10 September 2012.
  8. "KVIFF – Big River". Kviff.com.
  9. "Pusan International Film Festival (2005)". IMDb.com.
  10. "Shame". IMDb.com. 2 May 2006.
  11. Young, Deborah (4 January 2007). "Shame". Variety.com.
  12. Rabinowitz, Dorothy (1 June 2007). "A Long Way From Degradation". Wsj.com.
  13. "SECOND ANNUAL TELEVIS[i]ON ACADEMY HONORS TO CELEBRATE EIGHT PROGRAMS THAT EXEMPLIFY "TELEVISION WITH A CONSCIENCE"". Emmys.com.
  14. "Shame – Full Frame Documentary Film Festival". Fullframefest.org.
  15. "Shabeena's Quest". Aljazeera.com.
  16. Naqvi, Mohammed (8 September 2014). "'Pakistan's Hidden Shame': The director speaks". Dawn.com.
  17. Sonya Rehman. "Pakistani Director Tackles Child Abuse in Pakistan". Thediplomat.com.
  18. "UNAFF 2014: FILMS: Pakistan's Hidden Shame". Unaff.org.
  19. "Crew". Among The Believers.
  20. 2015, 28 May. "Among the Believers: Lifting the lid on radical Islam". Bbc.com.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. Leiby, Richard (18 June 2015). "Commentary: 3 films you must see to understand Pakistan, its problems". Washingtonpost.com.
  22. Scheib, Ronnie (22 April 2015). "Film Review: 'Among the Believers'". Variety.com.
  23. "Among the Believers – Tribeca Film Festival". 11 December 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-12-11.
  24. "Impugning Impunity: ALBA's Human Rights Film Festival Denounces Violence and Inequality – The Volunteer". Albavolunteer.org.
  25. "Among the Believers". IMDb.com.
  26. Reporter, The Newspaper's Staff (30 April 2016). "Another film banned". Dawn.com.
  27. Calvario, Liz (30 September 2016). "'Among the Believers' Featurette: Director Speaks Out About The Doc's Alarming Controversy". Indiewire.com.
  28. "Hemal Trivedi: Received death threats for 'Among The Believers'". The Times of India.
  29. "Insha'Allah Democracy (2017)". IMDb.com.
  30. "'Insha'Allah Democracy' – Meet my friend the former military dictator Pervez Musharraf… – Asian Culture Vulture". Asianculturevulture.com. 17 June 2017.
  31. "Sheffield Doc/Fest: Sheffield International Documentary Festival". Sheffdocfest.com.
  32. "Insha'allah Democracy – Film fra Sør". Filmfrasor.no.
  33. "INSHA'ALLAH DEMOCRACY". Docnyc.net.
  34. "Insha'Allah Democracy – IDFA". Idfa.nl.
  35. "FIPA / Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels". Fipa.tv.
  36. "Insha'Allah Democracy – Human Rights Watch Film Festival". Ff.hrw.org.
  37. "This documentary starring Musharraf has protesters calling for a ban in London". Images.dawn.com. 9 March 2018.
  38. "Pakistani Film Examines Mindset of a Dictator". Hrw.org. 7 March 2018.
  39. "Second Annual Television Academy Honors to Celebrate Eight Programs that Exemplify "Television with a Conscience"". emmys.com. 20 October 2009.
  40. "2015 Winners". oneworldmedia.org.uk.
  41. "Among the Believers – Asia Pacific Screen Awards". asiapacificscreenawards.com.
  42. Jaisinghani, Bella (27 November 2015). "Unesco Fellini Award to be presented at IFFI this year". timesofindia.indiatimes.com.
  43. "Winners 2015". chagrinfilmfest.org.
  44. Ravndal, Katrine (13 November 2015). "The Winners of CPH:DOX 2015 Are Announced". cphdox.dk.
  45. Staff, India West (4 November 2015). "'For Here or Go' Wins Jury Award at Seattle South Asian Film Festival". indiawest.com.
  46. "The Beloit International Film Festival 2016 Award Winners". beloitfilmfest.org.
  47. Barclay, Keith (13 May 2016). "Doc Edge names 2016 winners". screenz.co.nz.
  48. Spindler, Wolfgang (14 March 2016). "Human Rights Film Shines a Light on Human Wrongs". euronews.com.
  49. "Amnesty International Award". zinemaetagizaeskubideak.eus.
  50. "Winners of First Annual SOMA Film Festival Announced". villagegreen.com. 26 February 2016.
  51. "Sharmeen wins Emmy For Best Documentary". dawn.com. 7 October 2017.
  52. "Among The Believers". cinemaeyehonors.com.
  53. "Awards of Merit". impactdocsawards.com.
  54. "Tim Hetherington Award at Sheffield Documentary Festival 2017". timhetheringtontrust.org. 13 June 2017.
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