'Among the Believers' bags two awards at film festival in New Zealand

CBFC banned the documentary in Pakistan for showing “anti-state elements”

Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) may have banned Among the believers in Pakistan, but the board couldn't stop it from making waves internationally.

The Mohammed Naqvi and Hemal Trivedi directorial based on the controversial chief cleric of the Red Mosque Maulana Aziz, won big at the Doc Edge, an international documentary film festival in New Zealand.

The documentary bagged two titles -- Best International Director and a special mention in the Best International Documentary category.

Naqvi took to Instagram to share the big news.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFVLo93nZpM/



According to the official website, the film follows the lives of two teenage students who have attended madrassas (Islamic seminaries) run by Aziz's Red Mosque network. Throughout the film, their paths diverge: Talha, 12, detaches from his moderate Muslim family and decides to become a jihadi preacher. Zarina, also 12, escapes her madrassa and joins a regular school. Over the next few years, Zarina's education is threatened by frequent Taliban attacks on schools like her own.

Among the Believers has also been premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Earlier, the International Documentary Association also wrote an open letter to CBFC, urging it to lift the ban by stating, “Documentary film-makers have the right to hold governments in their countries accountable.”