Mohammed Ali Naqvi (Urdu: محمد علئ نقوئ; born 1979) is a Pakistani filmmaker based in New York City.

[1] He is known for documentaries which shed light on the socio political conditions of Pakistan, and feature strong characters on personal journeys of self-discovery.

[8] The film depicted a story about cross-cultural friendship between a Pakistani man, a Japanese boy, and an American woman who meet while traveling in Arizona.

[10][11] In 2006, Naqvi wrote, produced and directed Shame (Paramount/Showtime), a hard-hitting documentary chronicling the life of Mukhtaran Mai, the Pakistani survivor of gang rape who went on to become a human rights activist after taking her perpetrators to trial in a landmark case.

The film features the story of Shabeena, a remarkable school principal fighting for the right of girls to be educated despite age-old traditions leading to early marriages.

This documentary highlights pedophilia in Pakistan by depicting vulnerable young boys on the streets of Peshawar who have suffered sexual abuse at the hands of truck drivers passing through the city.

[24] The film highlights Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi’s role as the leader of the Red Mosque, pushing for a hardline interpretation of Islam and Jihad.

[25] As a counterpoint, the film also features the nuclear physicist and civil activist Pervez Hoodbhoy who champions a secular education system in favor of tolerant and progressive values.

These differing ideologies play out in the state sanctioned vacuum of educational and financial infrastructure in poverty stricken villages of Pakistan, which the Red Mosque is quick to fill in exchange for young recruits.

[28][29][30][31][32] In April 2016, the Central Board of Film Censors banned Among the Believers from being screened in Pakistan, giving the reason that it “projects the negative image of Pakistan in the context of ongoing fight against extremism terrorism.”[33] Both Naqvi and co-director Hemal Trivedi received death threats after the release of the film, forcing them to go into hiding for a period of time.

The film examines the contradictions and complexities of a nascent democratic process in a country recovering from a long history of military rule.

[59] For the first selection committee under Naqvi, the jury members included famed director/ cinematographer Bilal Lashari, Joyland’s Saim Sadiq, actor Fawad Khan, notable author Fatima Bhutto and others.

[64] The program of the collective included a sneak peek of Usman Riaz’s The Glassworker, Pakistan’s first 2d hand- animated feature film, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker.

The event which took place at the American Pavilion posed an opportunity for filmmaking teams to meet with film financiers and funders to pitch their next project.