This year’s Pakistani Academy Selection Committee includes Fawad Khan and Fatima Bhutto

This year’s Pakistani Academy Selection Committee (PASC) includes author Fatima Bhutto, filmmaker Bilal Lashari and actor Fawad Khan.

Newly-appointed chairman, filmmaker Mohammed Ali Naqvi, announced the new appointees in a press release issued on Monday. The committee will be tasked with choosing Pakistan’s official entry for the Academy Awards ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category.

Over the next month, the committee will review eligible films and select the entry that best represents Pakistani cinema.

“The selection committee is a testament to the abundant talent flourishing in Pakistan’s film sector. It’s a privilege to collaborate with such a remarkable team to spotlight the outstanding narratives crafted by Pakistani filmmakers,” said Naqvi.

Filmmaker Mohammed Naqvi appointed head of Pakistan Academy Selection Committee

Naqvi was appointed to the position in July, replacing two-time Oscar winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy who served on the committee for a decade.

Comprising a variety of individuals across the media landscape, the new committee is as follows:

• Saim Sadiq: Best known for directing ‘Joyland,’ which won the Cannes Jury Award and was shortlisted for an Oscar.

• Haya Fatima: Filmmaker and co-founder of Documentary Association of Pakistan

• Mehreen Jabbar: Award-winning director, producer and editor

• Nadia Afgan: Veteran actor, director, producer

• Bilal Lashari: Award-winning director and cinematographer who made Pakistan’s biggest blockbuster ‘Maula Jatt’

• Frieha Altaf: Event director, producer, activist

• Fatima Bhutto: Author and a Bailey’s Prize nominee, Bhutto is also an advocate for justice, culture and the climate

• Madeeha Syed: An Award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, cultural critic

• Fawad Khan: Award-winning actor known for ‘Humsafar’ and ‘Maula Jatt’

• Ahmed Ali Akbar: An actor knows for his work in ‘Laal Kabootar’, Akbar is also a recipient of several awards

Mohammed Ali Naqvi has much to celebrate, but says job has just begun

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.

He 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’.

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.