A new film documents the kind of impact the remarkable story of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai has had on the region and beyond.

Pakistani-Canadian journalist Mohsin Abbas is soaring high on the wings of a new project ― a documentary film he is making about the remarkable courage of a school girl from his native Pakistan.

Malala: A Girl from Paradise tells the story of Malala Yousafzai, who was shot last October while on a school bus with classmates.

Abbas recently spent four months in Pakistan with a four-member film crew. The team interviewed friends and family of 15-year-old Malala ― who is also the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in history ― for their documentary. Abbas says the process of gathering footage wasn’t easy, though. Continued insurgency in the volatile tribal regions make it one of the most dangerous areas in South Asia for working journalists.

Abbas is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker and press freedom activist, as well as editor of the Diversity Reporter, a multilingual weekly newspaper for newcomers and immigrants in Canada.

With this film, he says he wanted to explore how the Taliban’s failure to silence Malala has inspired men, women and children, not only in the Swat Valley, but beyond the borders of Pakistan. The documentary tells of how a young girl from a remote village stood up against stone age ideologues, and became a shining light and symbol of change around the world, said Abbas.

“We have some remarkable interviews about how she has changed the mindsets of people. A prime example is a woman we interviewed whose family business for generations had been traditional folk dancing. This woman told us that because of Malala, her daughters will not dance, but will go to school.”

The film also explores the political intrigue and conspiracy theories that have been swirling around the assassination attempt on Malala. The documentary, which will be in Urdu with English subtitles, will explain how the oppression of women, political tensions and social injustices led to the horrendous attack on the young schoolgirl.

Having survived being shot by the Taliban, Malala recently returned to school in Birmingham, England, where she presently lives with her family while receiving treatment.

Abbas now plans to rejoin his crew in Pakistan this summer for the second phase of filming and post-production work. He hopes to screen the film at various film festivals across Canada by the end of the year.

By Barbara Brown

(Dawn)