Habiba Nosheen on Her New Documentary The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony

A New Documentary Finds Joy in a Pakistani Gymnastics Revolution

For Emmy- and Peabody-award winning filmmaker Habiba Nosheen, who has spent her career in war zones and reporting on systemic sexual assault, her latest project was a deliberate departure. In a column for CBC, reported on by CBC.ca, Nosheen argues that after a career steeped in investigative journalism, she felt a crucial element was missing from her storytelling: joy. The result is The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony, a documentary that aired on CBC’s The Passionate Eye which follows three young girls in Pakistan challenging gender norms through gymnastics.

So it is very much a departure from what I normally do, which is investigative journalism. She wanted to create a narrative rooted in the authentic experience of joy for brown women, a perspective she felt was underexplored. While the film doesn’t shy away from nuance or the systemic struggles of its subjects, including the plight of stateless children, Nosheen frames it as a lighter, more uplifting story.

The Personal Connection That Built Trust

The film’s intimate character-driven feel is no accident. Nosheen’s connection to the story runs deep. Ten years ago, I adopted my daughter from Pakistan, she explained. When Nosheen learned of the Bengali community of stateless children struggling for access to education, she knew she had to tell their story.

Habiba Nosheen. Interview on: The Gymnasts Of Fisherman Colony at the Tribeca Film Festival 2026

This trust gave Nosheen unprecedented access to the community. The film reveals a complex reality: a group of children denied citizenship, living in a state of limbo, yet finding hope and empowerment through the discipline of gymnastics. I didn’t know about the stateless issues that the Bengali community in Pakistan has been facing. And I live 20 minutes from this community.

The Shifting Landscape of Documentary Filmmaking

The documentary arrives at a fascinating crossroads for the genre. While technological advances have made the process of making films easier, Nosheen observes that the business of documentaries has become more challenging, particularly for stories that don’t fit a mainstream mold. If you want to do documentaries about a celebrity or true crime, there’s funding for that.

THE GYMNASTS OF FISHERMAN COLONY's Director, Habiba Nosheen chats with Kuya P! A NRW Interview!

According to Nosheen, the market has contracted in recent years. There are less and less buyers out there for documentaries than there were five, six years ago. So that’s made the landscape definitely a lot harder to navigate. The success of films like You Can See Everything demonstrates the massive global appetite for documentaries, yet a parallel reality persists: the difficulty in securing distribution for stories from outside the Anglophone world.

Activists Joined After Seeing the Film

The documentary reached more viewers after activist Malala Yousafzai and actress Mariska Hargitay joined as executive producers. She clarified that they joined the project after seeing the completed film, which speaks to the story’s inherent power. And from what I understand, they wanted to lend their name to that. And I find that so touching. Because they’re both from very different walks of life.

THE GYMNASTS OF FISHERMAN COLONY Trailer | VIFF 2026

The film’s impact was powerfully evident at its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Sonia, one of the young gymnasts featured, attended the event and shared a moment with Nosheen that encapsulates the documentary’s significance. So the very first film she ever saw was a film about her. So I just feel privileged that they trusted us to tell their story.

Ultimately, The Gymnasts of Fisherman Colony is a documentary about three young girls in Pakistan challenging gender norms by training in gymnastics.