Biology Students Pick Up the Camera: QAU’s Inter-Departmental Documentary Festival 2026

On 28 October 2026, students of Plant Sciences and Animal Sciences from the Faculty of Biological Sciences at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, presented 15 documentaries in the Inter-Departmental Documentary Festival, a class project by Muhammad Ali Farooqi, Visiting Faculty. The Vice Chancellor of QAU, Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, congratulated the students on their remarkable work.

A Class Project that Grew into a Festival

The festival began as a class project by Muhammad Ali Farooqi, Visiting Faculty at QAU, who organised it for students of two departments of the Faculty of Biological Sciences: Plant Sciences and Animal Sciences. Its aim was to encourage creativity, research, teamwork and storytelling through documentary making.

The students worked in teams. Each team chose a subject, researched it, wrote a script, shot and edited its footage, and recorded a voice-over. The result was 15 documentaries, each about five minutes long, ready to be screened before an audience from both departments.

Opening Ceremony and Hosts

The event began with the recitation of the Holy Quran, followed by the opening ceremony. The hosts then welcomed the participants and the audience from both departments and introduced the proceedings.

Four students hosted the programme in two teams. Tuba and Amina represented the Department of Plant Sciences, and Naeem and Munazza represented the Department of Animal Sciences. They guided the audience through the afternoon and introduced the documentaries as students from both departments presented their work one by one.

The 15 Documentaries

The subjects came mostly from the heritage, history and landscape around Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Taxila, plus a few from further afield. Eight teams came from Animal Sciences and seven from Plant Sciences.

1. History Hunters

Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Buddhist Stupa and Monastery, Jaulian, Taxila

2. The Truth Seekers
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: Sirkap, the Lost City of Gandhara

3. Fab 5
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Darbar Se Bazaar Tak

4. The Visionaries
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: Beyond the Track (Golra Shareef Railway Station)

5. The Lost Civilization
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Taxila Museum

6. Heritage Chroniclers
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: A Village Trapped Inside a Modern Capital (Saidpur Village)

7. Androon Rawalpindi
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Androon Rawalpindi

8. Heritage Explorers
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: The Pakistan Monument Museum

9. GRS
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Golra Railway Station

10. Heritage Hunters
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: Pharwala Fort and Mai Qamro Mosque

11. Radiant Stars
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Siahi Ka Akhari Warq

12. History Voyagers
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: Takht-e-Bahi (Gandhara Civilization)

13. Zoology Star's
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: Pakistan Monument Museum

14. Taxilla
Department: Plant Sciences
Documentary: The Lost City of Wisdom (Julian)

15. ATALAAN
Department: Animal Sciences
Documentary: The Story of Topi Rakh

Judges and their Feedback

The documentaries were evaluated by three judges, each an experienced practitioner of theatre, media or filmmaking.

• Abrar Bazmi is a senior actor, music director, voice-over artist, choreographer and theatre action director with more than 20 years of experience. A graduate of the National College of Arts, he holds a music degree from the Yamaha School of Music in Sri Lanka, is a core member of The Curtain Raiser Productions and works as a media consultant at Bahria Colleges.

• Dr. Imran Khan is a playwright, scholar, TV host and teacher. He holds a PhD in History from QAU, is Assistant Professor of English at IMPC H-8, Islamabad, and chairs its Dramatics Club. He also teaches at QAU as visiting faculty and is a core member of The Curtain Raiser Productions.

• Waqar Ali is a senior director of photography and professional documentary maker. He is Head of Post Production at White News Global. He has covered Pakistan from Karachi to Khunjerab Pass. 

Each judge marked every documentary out of 100 for cinematography, editing, colour, sound design, voice-over, research, script and overall impact as a documentary.

After the screenings, the judges shared feedback with the students. They appreciated the participants' efforts, pointed out the strengths of their work and offered constructive guidance. Because this was a first-time experience for the students, the advice on scripting, voice-over, editing, sound and presentation was especially valuable for their next projects.

Awards and Winning Teams

Radiant Stars took Best Documentary and Best Sound, Androon Rawalpindi was first runner-up, and History Voyagers was second runner-up. Both departments reached the podium: Animal Sciences teams won six awards and Plant Sciences teams won four.

1. Best Documentary
Team: Radiant Stars
Team Members: Arooj, Tuba, Sadaf, Awais and Ubaid

2. First Runner-up
Team: Androon Rawalpindi
Team Members: Soonah, Najeeb, Huda and Aqib

3. Second Runner-up
Team: History Voyagers
Team Members: Humera, Suriya, Shumaila, Junaid, Nastaha and Huma

4. Best Cinematography
Team: Heritage Chroniclers
Team Members: Qalb-e-Abbas, Saba, Rida, Kaneez, Zainab, Muskan and Ibrahim

5. Best Voice-over
Team: Heritage Hunters
Team Members: Wahab, Abdul Rehman, Qadeer, Muzamil, Taimoor, Ilman, Saifullah and Hakim

6. Best Script
Team: Heritage Hunters
Team Members: Wahab, Abdul Rehman, Qadeer, Muzamil, Taimoor, Ilman, Saifullah and Hakim

7. Best Colour
Team: ATALAAN
Team Members: Abubakar Usmani, Naeem Khan and Sanaullah Khan

8. Best Editing
Team: Fab 5
Team Members: Aysha Abbasi Shah, Noor Hafsa, Nishat and Aqsa Razzaq

9. Best Sound
Team: Radiant Stars
Team Members: Arooj, Tuba, Sadaf, Awais and Ubaid

10. Best Research
Team: GRS
Team Members: Bareen, Zubia, Haleema, Faisal, Nadia Ali and Liaquat Ali

Congratulations from the Vice Chancellor

The Vice Chancellor of QAU, Dr. Zafar Nawaz Jaspal, congratulated the students on their remarkable work. For students of plant and animal sciences making documentaries for the first time, that recognition was a welcome encouragement.

The festival gave students practical experience in research, scriptwriting, cinematography, voice-over, editing, colour and sound. They learned to work in teams, to turn a subject into a story, and to present it to a live audience. It also built the confidence to keep developing their creative and presentation skills.

Conclusion

The Inter-Departmental Documentary Festival brought Plant Sciences and Animal Sciences together in a positive atmosphere of creativity, teamwork and learning. With 15 documentaries screened, honest feedback from the judges and awards for ten categories, it gave the students recognition for their work and a foundation for future documentary competitions and similar student initiatives at QAU.

The festival was a class project by Muhammad Ali Farooqi, Visiting Faculty, and was sponsored by FF Industries, Islamabad.