Nelufar came to the UK as a refugee from Afghanistan, and has since built her profile as an award-winning journalist dedicated to telling the stories of marginalised people. She is vocal on issues such as food ethics and sustainability, having presented Food Exposed with Nelufar Hedayat, a programme which delves into the way our consumption of food affects the world we inhabit. Her documentaries on human trafficking have been viewed on both sides of the Atlantic on Netflix, Vice, National Geographic and the BBC.
Nelufar Hedayat came to Britain as a refugee from Afghanistan. The journalist and presenter has produced a raft of hard-hitting journalistic work on the experiences of marginalised communities, and the ecological impact of modern food production. Her work is immersive, and impact driven, often shining a light on the consequences of our actions and challenging our perceptions of the world. She was nominated for a Pulitzer for her podcast Kabul Falling and won a News and Documentary Emmy for her film the film Plastic Time Bomb, which she directed and presented.
She has created a body of work with British and American broadcasters, from self-authored series to guest hosting alongside Morgan Freeman, for National Geographic’s The Story of God. She has also worked with Vice, Fusion, Newsy, The Guardian and the BBC.
Nelufar’s eight-part series The Traffickers, saw her travel across the globe following the illegal trades of precious minerals, counterfeit drugs, endangered species, and people. In all of her work, she gains the trust of her interviewees which enables her to push for deeper insightful interviews that translate powerfully on screen. This enables Nelufar to explore and understand the actions and reasoning of characters often with polar opposite opinions, including corrupt politicians and human traffickers without judgement or preconceived opinions.
An early pioneer of the subject of food ethics and suitability, she presented Food Exposed with Nelufar Hedayat, which examined how our eating habits were impacting the world. The series, saw her explore the journeys our food makes, the processes that go into this ever-growing market and what the growing demand costs the planet and the people growing our food.
Nelufar was named Correspondent of the year Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media and was invited by The Pope to join Summit of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences’, and to be signatory on the Resolution on Organ Trafficking, (ratified by the Council of Europe) following her film on the subject.