Best short documentary: Sharmeen does it again for Pakistan

Wins her 2nd Oscar for ‘A Girl in the River’ as felicitations pour in

HOLLYWOOD:

A documentary about a Pakistani girl shot in the face by her family won an Oscar on Monday, bringing home the second award for director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. ‘A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness’ won the Academy Award for the best short documentary at the star-studded ceremony in Hollywood.

“This is what happens when determined women get together,” Sharmeen said as she accepted her golden statuette. She also praised “all the brave men out there, like my father and my husband, who push women to go to school and work and who want a more just society for women”.

The filmmaker also took to Facebook to announce her achievement: “Pakistan, we just won our 2nd Oscar!!”

In 2012, Sharmeen made history after winning Pakistan’s first Oscar at the 84th Annual Academy Awards for her documentary ‘Saving Face’.

Her latest film follows Saba, a 19-year-old survivor of an attempted honour killing, who was beaten, shot and thrown into a river after she ran off to marry a man against her family’s wishes. What saved her life from the gunshot was a tilt of the head at the last moment, meaning the bullet grazed her cheek instead of shattering her skull. Not only did she survive, but also went to the police – a rarity for such attacks in Pakistan.

Survivors of honour killings are rare and the film offers a stark look at the pain – physical and emotional – inflicted on Saba, her extraordinary resilience and ultimate failure to see her father and uncle convicted.

A loophole in Pakistani laws allows the perpetrators of such murders to get off scot-free if they are pardoned by their family. Sharmeen vows to change that.

Saba initially sought a conviction, but eventually relented under pressure from her brother-in-law and community elders, who say it is better to resolve enmity than let it fester.

Congratulations pour in

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who held a special screening of the award-winning film, congratulated Sharmeen for winning her second Oscar.

The prime minister lauded the efforts of the filmmaker, saying “there is no place for killing in the name of honour in Islam”, his office said in a statement.

The premier said his government was in the process of legislating to stop such brutal and inhumane acts in the name of honour. “Women like Sharmeen are not only a pride for the Pakistani nation but are also a significant source of contribution towards the march of civilisation in the world,” he stated. In Washington, US Secretary of State John Kerry also hailed the documentary credited with changing attitudes to honour killing.

The film was on Kerry’s mind as he opened the annual US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue with Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz in attendance. “This is a sign of how a great work of cinema can shine light on a subject on real world challenges and it can actually promote positive change,” Kerry told the assembled diplomats from both countries.

Female education activist and youngest-ever Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai also congratulated Sharmeen, saying the entire nation was proud of her and grateful to her for raising her voice for women’s rights.

Many also took to Twitter to congratulate the filmmaker, with Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau perhaps the biggest surprise. “Congratulations Sharmeen on your Oscars win,” he tweeted while quoting a part of the filmmaker’s acceptance speech.

The Sindh Assembly also paid tribute to Sharmeen on winning another Oscar by tabling a joint resolution. The legislators demanded a law against honour killing, and accused feudal lords and people in power of being a ‘stumbling block’ in legislation against Karo-Kari.


Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2016.