Jawad Sharif

Jawad was awarded a scholarship at The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), School of Theater, Film and Television in 2016. He is an alumnus of Swedish Institute and Institut Fur Auslandsbeziehunge, Germany. Jawad is also Festival Director of Asia Peace Film Festival[11] and jury member of the Jaipur Library Academy Awards, India[12]

In 2012, he directed feature documentary Beyond the Heights, which is about a young Pakistani Mountaineer Samina Baig, who became the first Pakistani woman to scale Mount Everest at the age of 22.[13] Jawad has worked as a cinematographer and editor in the award-winning feature documentary K2 and the Invisible Footmen (2015) which documents the overwhelming lives and efforts of Pakistani porters, who for decades have facilitated the ascent to mountaineers from around the world on the Earth's second-highest mountain.[14]
His recent feature documentary Indus Blues (2018), a musical feature documentary highlights the plight of the folk musicians and craftsmen of Pakistan and the state of their dying art. Through his journey of a thousand miles, Sharif takes us through the rugged mountains in the north to the sandy beaches and pristine coastline in the south, only in search of Pakistan's folk treasures.[15][16] In an interview with Arab News, Jawad mentioned: “In a country riddled with political turmoil, economic challenges, and social identity crisis, musicians and instrument craftsmen find it hard to survive and sustain their art. We have to share these hidden gems. The world should know that Pakistan is a home of beautiful instruments and musicians”[17]

Outspoken and upfront Jawad Sharif is an advocate of free speech. In his interview to the WOMEX he mentioned that how he used music as shelter for dialogue and added: “Freedom of expression is almost non-existent in Pakistan. It is complicated to talk about sensitive topics such as religion or state openly without repercussions. So yes music, was definitely a kind of shelter and tool through which we could have a covert dialogue on sensitive topics with the artists and have them open up more. Having said that, parts of the film (Indus Blues) which touch upon religion when it comes to music have been censored in Pakistan, whereas, only an edited version of the film is screened.”[18]
On another occasion in 2018, Jawad said in an interview: “We have started censoring ourselves. We are afraid of thinking out of the box and challenging norms. The investors have a difficult time putting their faith in anything other than melodramatic stories and formula films. We need to have frequent dialogues on different forums about this and we need to value the freedom to create and express before it is too late.”[19]

Jawad's films primarily revolve around identity crisis, existentialism, religious and cultural pressures, day-in-day-out human struggles, resistance, and fear & will to survive. According to him, his films reflect on his own emotions and truthfully documents despair and injustice in the society. Furthermore, he addressed the burning question of identity crisis, extremism and resistance in the Pakistani society through his films.[20]
Regarding the hardships of being a musician in Pakistan, Jawad mentioned in his interview to VOA Urdu that the resistance our musicians face, not only in our society but within their own families. He said he could: “personally relate to this resistance as well since being a filmmaker myself, I have faced the same from my family. They also wish I would get a ‘real & respectable’ job.”[21]

• Jawad Sharif on IMDb
• Website for Jawad Sharif Films