Pakistani documentary filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmad recently bagged two awards at the New York Festivals 2019. He has won the Silver World Medal in the History and Society Category for his documentary The Rise and Fall of Mujib while he has been honoured with the Bronze World Medal in the Community Portraits Category for Nepal’s Child Brides.
“I’m very grateful to my hardworking and diligent teams in Nepal, Bangladesh and Singapore for their total commitment to both these projects,” the filmmaker said in a statement.
Ahmad also informed that for The Rise and Fall of Mujib, that explores the reasons for Mujib’s rise and his violent death after the Liberation War in 1975, he traveled to Pakistan and Bangladesh. He and his team met eye witnesses of the Bengali freedom movement and tried to understand the economic injustices, misperceptions and mistrust, and the eventual war between India and Pakistan that led to the deaths of millions.
On the other hand, Nepal’s Child Brides aimed to create awareness to stop child marriages, given the high rate of early marriages in Nepal. For the documentary, Ahmad travelled to Nepal to film in villages and towns where women are forced into marriage before they turn 18.
“The documentary tries to highlight the work of Nepali activists in creating awareness about this crucial issue, especially amongst men, as it seriously hampers the development of a healthy society while putting women in harm’s way: socially, politically, and economically,” he added.
