Nelofer Pazira
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Nelofer Pazira (born 1973) is a Canadian filmmaker, author and journalist of Qizilbash-Afghanistani descent.
Born in India from a Tajik-Afghanistani father who was then studying medicine, Pazira grew up in Kabul, Afghanistan, where she lived through ten years of Soviet occupation before escaping with her family to Pakistan in 1989, from where she immigrated to New Brunswick, Canada, in 1990. She currently lives in Toronto.
In 1996, Nelofer attempted to return to Afghanistan — then under Taliban rule — to find a lost childhood friend. Although she was unsuccessful, Nelofer did become the star of a feature film loosely based on her journey. She was awarded the Prix d'interprétation by the Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in that film: Safar e Ghandehar (also known as Kandahar).
Nelofer later performed in, co-produced, and co-directed Return to Kandahar.
Nelofer has directed two documentaries about Iran, written for a number of publications, and founded a charity, the Dyana Afghan Women's Fund and worked as a journalist for the CBC's The National.
On March 1, 2006, Pazira's A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan was named winner of the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize for 2005.
Pazira defended Joseph Boyden's novel Three Day Road in Canada Reads 2006.
In February 2007, Pazira was a keynote speaker at the Religion, Culture & Conflict symposium at Trinity Western University, addressing the topic of suicide bombers in Afghanistan.
[edit] Filmography
- Safar e Ghandehar (2001)
- Return to Kandahar (2003)
- The Giant Buddhas (2005)
[edit] Bibliography
- A Bed of Red Flowers: In Search of My Afghanistan (2005)
