Filmmaker Mohammed Naqvi appointed head of Pakistan Academy Selection Committee

Pakistani-American filmmaker Mohammed Naqvi has been named the new headof the Pakistan Academy Selection Committee (PASC), he announced on Twitter on Wednesday.

The PASC is responsible for selecting Pakistan’s official entry for the Academy Awards each year in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

The filmmaker will replace two-time Oscar winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who served on the committee for a decade.

“I am incredibly honoured and excited to take on the role as the chairman of the PASC. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity, and I commit myself to continue elevating Pakistani cinema on the international stage,” Naqvi was quoted as saying in media reports.

“I’m eager to introduce our committee members to the public in the near future. I am confident that our combined efforts will further elevate Pakistani cinema on the global stage.”

Naqvi was inducted into the academy last year, saying then that he was looking forward to moving the cultural needle towards a less clichéd and stereotypical representation of the South Asian diaspora.

“Representations matter, even in non-fiction. Who is telling the story matters,” he told Business Recorder in an earlier interview.

Naqvi was recently nominated for an Emmy for a documentary he wrote and directed called ‘The Accused: Damned or Devoted’. It was nominated for ‘Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking’.

Of the Emmy nomination, he had told Business Recorder, “The motivation behind this film stemmed from my desire to challenge those wielding power, particularly those who distort our faith for political ends. We decided to create a mirror for society, reflecting the reality despite the tremendous risks involved. The fact that we’ve been acknowledged with a nomination for a Primetime Emmy is truly like a dream coming to life.”

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Naqvi attended the University of Pennsylvania and began his career off-Broadway in New York City.

Naqvi’s previous works include ‘Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror’, on which he was co-executive producer. It was previously nominated for an Emmy in the ‘Outstanding Politics and Government Documentary’ category.

Naqvi is also the recipient of two Amnesty International Human Rights Awards and a Grand Prix from the United Nations Association Festival, among other accolades.