Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy: The fact that my film has been nominated, is already a win

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s latest documentary titled A Girl In The River: The Price of Forgiveness has been nominated for an Oscar for the category  Documentary Short Subject category. Chinoy, who has already won an Oscar award in 2012 for her movie Saving Face, is already counting it as a win, as far as her latest movie is concerned.

“For me, the fact that the movie has been nominated for the award alone is a win,” she said, while speaking to BBC. “Honour killing is a taboo issue in Pakistan, it is not discussed at a national level. Today, we are having a discourse about honour killing in Pakistan,” said the filmmaker.

“When Saving Face was released, it made acid attacks a crime in Punjab. This meant that the cases were sped through anti-terrorism courts. This resulted women in getting justice quicker and they didn’t have to go to court more,” she said.

Sharmeen also expressed hope for women and said that Pakistan as a country was changing for the better.

“2015 was a great year for Pakistan since I believe the country is opening up. We have seen lots of new young female actresses crop up and start taking part in movies, films etc. So the way women are portrayed in the media is now changing in Pakistan,” she said.

Sharmeen said it was the fact that people looked up to her, was most elating for her.

“What feels the most special to me is when a mother wants me to speak to her little daughter and motivate her. The fact that these people look up to me as a role model and believe in the same cause that I believe in, feels great.”