Pakistani film The Losing Side has received the ‘Best Human Rights Film’ award at the Cannes Film Festival. Directed by Javed Sharif, the film explores the issue of forced conversions in Sindh by interviewing four victims of forced conversion marriages.
In an interview with Dawn, Sharif said that he was inspired to make this film after wanting to see how minorities are preserving their heritage and culture. He elaborated that religious minorities like Hindu and Christians in Sindh face the issue of religious conversion, which can also be by choice but in most cases they are forced when young girls are kidnapped and married to Muslim men.
The purpose of these awards, as Sharif told Dawn, was to provide more space for sensitive issues in mainstream media
“I believe this award is more meaningful as it will give space to a sensitive issue in the mainstream media.’
He also hoped that in filming these issues, their can be presented a ‘narrative of resistance.’
In an Instagram post, Sharif announced to his followers that The Losing Side had been given the ‘Best Human Rights Film’ award and thanked all of his team members who had worked hard to ensure that the project would become a success.
You can watch the full trailer here:
