A documentary, based on the life of Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, has won a BAFTA nomination in the best documentary category.
"He Named Me Malala", by American filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, charts the life of the 18-year-old schoolgirl, who was shot in the head by the Taliban and airlifted for life-saving surgery in the UK in 2012.
The film, based onher biography "I Am Malala" by Christina Lamb, traces Malala's life in the Swat Valley, her struggle after the near-death experience, her new life as a schoolgirl in Birmingham and finally her 2014 Nobel Peace Prize win.
"What you have to understand is that all of us have the instinct to be fearful, as well as the instinct to listen to the voice of tolerance, forgiveness and love. Malala is that voice that we need so desperately right now," said Guggenheim in reference to his subject.
Malala's life story will go head to head with another life story, that of British singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse, by Indian-origin British filmmaker Asif Kapadia.
"Amy" contends in the documentary category as well as in the outstanding British film category.The film traces the Grammy Award-winning soul singer's life and untimely death as a result of a drug overdose.
"I love the live music we've got in the movie. I sometimes play it while I'm working. I'm more in love with her as an artist than I was before," Kapadia said of his film, which will premiere on Channel 4 in the UK today.
The annual BAFTA ceremony takes place at London's Royal Opera House on February 14, two weeks before the Oscars.
