PRESS RELEASE
November 2, 2025 – Tulum, Mexico – Pakistani Feature Documentary “Natari” produced by Jawad Sharif Films and directed by Haroon Riaz and Jawad Sharif has won the best feature award at the Tulum World Environment Film Festival held in Mexico. The film won the best feature prize in the Immigration Category. Natari is produced by Jawad Sharif and Syeda Kashmala, with cinematography by Asif Ali.
Natari tells the story of Sindhi fisherman, artist, and political activist Ayoub Sehto, and his son Ayaz Gul Sehto, whose family faces the brutal reality of climate migration from their home in Kharo Chan Island. Climate change is worsening sea water encroachment, fresh water shortage, and disappearing livelihood for fishermen community in the Indus Delta. The film tells the plight of the climate migrants in Sindh from the lens of the protagonist and his family.
Producer and co-Director Jawad Sharif expressed what the film meant to his team. “Natari is a testament to human resilience. Stories like Ayoub Sehto’s are not isolated accounts but put a face to thousands of families who are being quietly erased by climate injustice. Winning here in Mexico, far from the Indus Delta, proves that their struggle resonates globally. Cinema has the power to build empathy across borders, and with this award, the world is acknowledging that these voices matter.”
“For us at Jawad Sharif Films, storytelling is an act of responsibility. We stand with the communities who are on the frontlines of climate change and yet have the least to do with causing it. We are dedicated to bringing this story to the world. We will continue amplifying the voices of marginalized communities through Climate Kahani and through every platform available to us.”
This is yet another win within a month for the Islamabad-based film production company, Filmmaker Jawad Sharif had also recently won the “Jackson Wild Award” for his new feature documentary “Moklani: The Last Mohannas,” a film that tells the story of the endangered culture of the native riverine tribe of the Mohanas in the Indus Delta in Sindh. The award is set to be the equivalent of the Oscars for Wildlife and Nature films.
Jawad Sharif Films is an Islamabad-based film production company known for its social impact filmmaking. Its founder and filmmaker Jawad Sharif has a long and celebrated history of taking the voice of communities across Pakistan all over the world. Other than K2 and the Invisible Footmen and the multiple award-winning Indus Blues, his work was also featured at the Dubai Expo 2020.
