Young filmmaker makes it to Forbes ’30 Under 30 Asia’ list

Islamabad: A young Pakistani filmmaker Shahnawaz Zali has been named in the Forbes ‘30 Under 30 Asia’ list on Thursday.

Zali is a graduate of Northwestern University Qatar Campus and has won international awards for his films.

His documentary on suicide bombers ‘100 Steps-Sau Qadam’ was nominated as the Best film in the Narrative category for the 43rd Student Academy Awards.

The film, made in 2015, revolves around a young boy who is dragged into suicide bombings. He has bagged several other accolades at international events including the Miami International Film Festival, the Accolade Global Film Festival and Qatar Media Awards.

Zali has also won the Best Film award, for his film ‘Muhammad’ at the Qatar Media Awards 2014.

Shahnawaz hails from Lahore and cultivated a love of cinema in his teens. His first major film, ‘Muhammad’, is based on the story of a Syrian boy who was killed for blasphemy. The film is a re-imagined story set in Zali’s home country of Pakistan. ‘Muhammad’ has been showcased in three international film festivals and earned Zali two NU-Q Student Media Awards, one for best picture and one for best cinematography.

Shahnawaz plans to open a production house that “will always have its doors open to anyone, especially youngsters, who wish to discuss ideas, scripts or their work.”

The 24-year-old director wants to make films that make people think and touch them emotionally because according to him: “An article speaks 500 words, a picture speaks 1,000, but I believe a film speaks a million.”

The Forbes ‘30 Under 30 Asia: Entertainment & Sports’ list also includes Australian actress Margot Robbie, Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and New Zealand’s singing sensation Lorde.

The judges panel in the category included famous singer Yuna, CNN correspondent Mallika Kapur, rugby player and boxer Sonny Bill Williams and Pakistan’s two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy.