Globally celebrated Pakistani documentary filmmaker Shehzad Hameed Ahmad has clinched two gold awards for his documentary “Addicted: The Synthetic Curse” and “Vapours of Death” at the New York Festivals 2026 in New York City. Both films highlight the growing global crisis of substance abuse amongst the youth and the devastating impact of illegal trafficking networks on communities across the globe. This marks Shehzad’s total tally of 12 world medals at the New York Festivals alone, inching closer to a global world record.
Shehzad’s experience that spans over 20 years, directing over 100 documentaries, pushing the understanding of the world by filming with some of the most difficult to access stories ranging from exposing illegal gold miners in Brazil’s protected Amazon rainforests, filming underwater to unearth the coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef’s to filming the battle between the Afghan Taliban and Afghanistan National Army in Afghanistan.
Shehzad was previously honoured with the Prince of Asturias Award from the King of Spain in 2014. His documentaries have won 4 Global Media Awards in Germany, Green Image Award in Japan, 2 Handle Climate Change Film Awards in China, Singapore’s Gender Equality Impact Change-maker Award 2020. Shehzad is a Fulbright scholar with a MA in Documentary Filmmaking from NYU.
