Even with the world on the brink of chaos as we sit tight in quarantine, not all is doom and gloom. Pakistani filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmed brought home two New York Festival awards.
This year at the New York Festival 2020, this Pakistani filmmaker bagged not one but two awards for his documentary films. One in the human rights category and the other in the human concerns category.
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In the ‘Human Concerns’ category, Shehzad Hameed’s ‘Whiter Shade of Terror‘ won silver. Whiter Shade of Terror tells the story of white supremacy and terrorism. The filmmaker went all the way to Norway, Australia, and New Zealand to investigate the face of white supremacy and terrorism.
From looking into the Christchurch mosque shooting, meeting white supremacist groups in Australia and Norway. Whiter Shade of Terror explores the political support white supremacist groups enjoy.
The documentary film also presents insight into a Christian militia in Georgia and their fear of Muslims. Georgia’s lax gun laws even aid attacks on Muslims.
‘Caught in the Crossfire‘ won bronze in the ‘Human Rights’ category. Caught in the Crossfire is part 1 of a two-part docu-series. Part 1 tells civilian stories from the frontlines in Afghanistan. The documentary film focuses on the lives of a journalist, a female street artist, and a young Army cadet stuck in an ongoing war.
Even if foreign troops leave the war between the Taliban and the Afghan government, some issues will remain. So what is the democratic solution for a peaceful Afghanistan? Part 2 explores the military and political aspects of the story.
More About Shehzad Hameed Ahmed
The Pakistani filmmaker is also a broadcast journalist. This isn’t his first New York Festival either. Shehzad Hameed has six New York Festival awards to his name.
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The Singapore based documentary filmmaker has explored many dangerous parts of the world. From the Amazon rain forests in Brazil to the camps of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh, to white supremacist militias in the United States, to the Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistan, and even the Philippines’s war zone in Marawi, and Indonesia’s jungle warfare in Poso against ISIS.
As a broadcast journalist, he has worked with TVF International, Toggle, Dawn News, National Geographic, TV Ontario, Channel News Asia, etc.
