All in the name: ‘He Named Me Malala’ shortlisted for Oscars

Documentary film He Named Me Malala has been shortlisted for the 2016 Oscar Awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The film is a portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the passionate Pakistani advocate of girls’ education who survived a Taliban gun attack in 2012.

Filmed over 18 months in Britain, Kenya, Nigeria, Abu Dhabi and Jordan, the documentary by American filmmaker David Guggenheim recalls how Malala’s father chose her name in honour of Malalai of Maiwand, who rallied the Pashtun army against British troops in 1880.

In He Named Me Malala, Davis shows how the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala, her father Zia and her family are committed to fighting for girls education worldwide.

Out of 124 submissions, only 15 were included in the shortlist for Documentary Feature, according to the official Oscars website.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2015.