Pakistani documentary The Emergency Exit wins award at Kathmandu Doc Lab

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani filmmakers Mahnoor Batool and Shahnawaz Ahmed Khan’s documentary The Emergency Exit has received the Spirit of Doc Lab award at the Kathmandu Doc Lab, making it the only Pakistani film to secure an award at this year’s festival.

The film focuses on Parachinar and presents life in Pakistan’s northwestern border region through the experiences of local residents rather than the conflict-centred framing often seen in international coverage and mainstream cinema. Mahnoor and Shahnawaz, who are from Parachinar, use the film to foreground ordinary moments, including family routines, shared conversations and the ways people sustain relationships while living under prolonged uncertainty.

Focus on everyday life in Parachinar

The documentary departs from conventional portrayals of the area that have long reduced such places to violence, military calculations and tragedy. Instead, it centres on the daily lives of the community and seeks to preserve a more intimate and human account of the town.

The emotional core of the project is reflected in its teaser, in which a young boy responds to a question about the violence around him.

“If a missile comes, it will come. And if it hits this house, then what? At most, we will die.”

the line as capturing the burden carried by a child growing up amid conflict.

Recognition at a regional forum

The documentary was developed under the mentorship of Pakistani filmmaker Anam Abbas, with the report saying the project moves away from standard documentary formulas in favour of deeper conversations and a more locally rooted storytelling approach.

By winning one of the top four prizes at the lab, The Emergency Exit stood out in a competitive field that included South Asian films from India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. The award marked a significant achievement for the filmmakers and for Pakistani documentary cinema, with the film presenting the people of Parachinar through what it described as a hyper-local and artistically uncompromising lens.

The film aims to ensure the lives of Parachinar’s residents are remembered not solely through the violence around them, but also through the dignity and resilience with which they continue to live.