After getting a nomination as a finalist at the Cannes World Film Festival, filmmaker Wajahat Malik’s feature documentary Jalavaan has won a triple honor at another international film festival.
Jalavaan won the Best Feature Documentary, Best Director in a Feature Documentary Film, and Best Cinematography in a Feature Documentary awards at the South Film Arts & Academy Film Festival based in Rancagua, Chile.
Produced by Islamabad-based film production company Eyebex Films, Jalavaan is the only Pakistani film that has won three awards at the festival in its 72nd edition.
Jalavaan: The Gypsy Gold Panners of the Karakoram is the debut feature documentary by filmmaker and adventurer Wajahat Malik.
The film offers a unique glimpse into the mysterious lives of the Jalavaan or the Sonewal tribe that pan on river banks for gold for a living.
The elusive and itinerant tribe offered rare access to the filmmaker on location in Hunza, Nagar, and Chapursan valleys in Gilgit-Baltistan for this unique docudrama with stunning visuals.
Wajahat Malik, the director, expressed his satisfaction with the wins at the film festival. “The triple award at the South Film Arts and Academy Film Festival is a little acknowledgment for the hard work our team has put in to make this film a reality.
In addition to the Best Feature Documentary Film award, the Cinematography award is particularly notable, which is a nod to the brilliant work of our cinematographers Muhammad Qadeer and Waqar Arshad.
Let these awards be a reminder of funding more academic research into the lives of this rare tribe to learn more about their anthropological value in the cultural spectrum of the region.
Eyebex Films is an Islambad-based film production company founded by adventurer, filmmaker, and broadcaster Wajahat Malik.
The film production company offers full-service film production services, specializing in adventure and tourism filmmaking and shooting in remote and inaccessible parts all across Pakistan.
