Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
شرمین عبید چنائے

Chinoy at the World Economic Forum, 2013
Born Sharmeen Obaid
(1978-11-12) 12 November 1978
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistani
Alma mater Smith College
Stanford University
Occupation Filmmaker, journalist
Years active 2001–present
Website Official website

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Urdu: شرمین عبید چنائے‎; born 12 November 1978) is a Pakistani journalist, filmmaker and activist. She has established a career as a filmmaker in and outside Pakistan, and is the recipient of several awards, including two Academy Awards, six Emmy Awards, and a Lux Style Award. In 2012, the Government of Pakistan awarded her with the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian honour of the country. That same year, Time named her as one of the "100 most influential people in the world".[1][2]

Obaid-Chinoy, born and raised in Karachi , was educated at Karachi Grammar School. She then moved to the United States for higher studies and graduated from Smith College in 2002.[3] She returned to Pakistan and launched her career as a filmmaker with her first film Terror's Children for The New York Times.[4] In 2003 and 2004 she made two award-winning films while a graduate student at Stanford University.[4] Her most notable films includes, the animated adventure 3 Bahadur (2015), the musical journey Song of Lahore (2015) and the two Academy Award winning films, the documentary Saving Face (2012) and the biographical A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2016).[5] Her visual contributions have earned her numerous awards, including two Academy Awards in the Best Short Subject Documentary (2012 and 2016) and two Emmy Awards in the same category (2010 and 2011).[6][7]

Obaid-Chinoy has also won six Emmy Awards, including two of which are in the International Emmy Award for Current Affairs Documentary category for the films, the terrorist drama Pakistan's Taliban Generation[8] and the documentary Saving Face (2012)[9] Throughout her career, she has made many records, her Academy Award win for Saving Face made her the second Pakistani to win an Academy Award,[10][11][12] and she is one of only eleven female directors who have ever won an Oscar for a non-fiction film.[13][14][15] She is also the first non-American to win the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.[12] The 2015 animated adventure 3 Bahadur made her the first Pakistani to make a computer-animated feature-length film.[6]

In 2007, she helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, whose projects center around the preservation of Pakistan's cultural and social heritage. She also serves as the Ambassador for Blood Safety for Pakistan's national blood safety program.[16]

Personal life

Obaid-Chinoy was born on 12 November 1978 at Karachi, Pakistan. She received her early education from the Convent of Jesus and Mary and Karachi Grammar School and then moved to the United States for higher education. Upon moving, she enrolled herself at the Smith College, from where she completed her bachelors in 2002 and graduated from the Stanford University with a Masters degree in Journalism in 2004.[4]

Career

After graduating from Smith College in 2002, she returned to Pakistan,[3] and launched her career as a filmmaker with her first film Terror's Children for The New York Times.[4] In 2003 and 2004 she made two award-winning films while a graduate student at Stanford University.[4]She then began a long association with the PBS TV series Frontline World, where she reported "On a Razor's Edge" in 2004 and went on over the next 5 years to produce many broadcast reports, online videos and written "Dispatches" from Pakistan. Her most notable films include Children of the Taliban, The Lost Generation, Afghanistan Unveiled, 3 Bahadur, Song of Lahore and the Academy Award winning Saving Face and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.[5] Her visual contributions have earned her numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary (2012 and 2016) and the Emmy Award in the same category (2010 and 2011) and the One World Media Award for Broadcast Journalist of the Year (2007). Her films have been aired on several international channels, including the PBS, CNN, Discovery Channel, Al Jazeera English and Channel 4.[17][18][19][6][20]

Obaid-Chinoy has also won six Emmy Awards, including two in the International Emmy Award for Current Affairs Documentary category for the films Pakistan's Taliban Generation[8] and Saving Face.[9] Her Academy Award win for Saving Face made her the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award,[10][11][12] and she is one of only 11 female directors who have ever won an Oscar for a non-fiction film.[13][14][15] She is also the first non-American to win the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.[12] The 2015 animated adventure 3 Bahadur made her the first Pakistani to make a computer-animated feature-length film.[6]

In 2007, she helped found the Citizens Archive of Pakistan, whose projects center around the preservation of Pakistan's cultural and social heritage. She also serves as the Ambassador for Blood Safety for Pakistan's national blood safety program.[16] Obaid-Chinoy is a TED Fellow and the recipient of the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award in Pakistan.[20] Time magazine named Sharmeen in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2012.[1][2]

On 23 March 2012, Pakistan's president conferred the highest civilian award, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, on Obaid-Chinoy for bringing honor to Pakistan as a filmmaker.[21][1][2][22][23] Sharmeen was ranked 37th on Desiclub.com's list of the 50 Coolest Desis of 2009.[24]

In 2012, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy released the 5-part series Ho Yaqeen (To Believe). In 2014, SOC Films released the 6-part series I Heart Karachi. On April 19, 2015, Song of Lahore,[25] directed and produced by her and Andy Schocken, premiered at Tribeca Film Festival[26] and was the Runner Up to the Tribeca Audience Choice Award.[27] In September 2015, Broad Green Pictures[28] acquired the U.S distribution rights to Song of Lahore announcing the release of the film in select cinemas in the U.S. In October 2015 the film was submitted for consideration in the documentary feature category for the 2016 Oscars by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[29] Song of Lahore European premiere was at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)[30] from 18 to 29 November 2015. The film had its Middle Eastern premiere at the 12th Annual Dubai International Film Festival[31] in December 2015.

On the 20th of May, 2016 Song of Lahore was released in select cinemas across New York City and Los Angeles. The cinematic release was accompanied by the release of the official soundtrack which features collaborations with artistes such as Wynton Marsalis and Meryl Streep. The album is available on Amazon.com

"This week the Pakistani prime minister has said that he will change the law on honour killing after watching this film. That is the power of film."

—Obaid-Chinoy while accepting her Oscar for A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness[32]

On May 22, 2015, Pakistan's first animated movie, 3 Bahadur, directed by Obaid-Chinoy, a film dedicated to inculcating bravery in the youth of Pakistan, was released by Waadi Animations. The heroes of the film, Amna, Kamil and Saadi were highly anticipated, and despite being shown on only 50 screens in Pakistan, 3 Bahadur became Pakistan's highest grossing animated movie of all time, earning Rs 6.5 million and defeating the record set by Rio 2.[33] 3 Bahadur also screened at the Montreal Film Festival[34] in Canada, in August 2015.

On September 11, 2015, Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers[35] Obaid-Chinoy's feature documentary, co-directed and produced with Geeta Gandbhir, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival[36][37] 2015 for its North American premiere. The film follows the journey of three Bangladeshi women soldiers who are deployed to Haiti as part of the United Nations peacekeeping mission. The film premiered at the Mumbai Film Festival[38] on 29 October 2015 for its Asian premiere and played at the DOC NYC[39] Festival in November 2015.

On 17 February 2016, the film screened at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City as part of a discussion of women and peacekeeping.[40] The event was moderated by Stefen Feller, UN Police Adviser and was attended by a full house, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Permanent Representative of Bangladesh, Masud Bin Momen. The documentary won the Humanitarian Award at the RiverRun International Film Festival on April 21, 2016 and also won the Best Documentary Award at the Bentonville Film Festival, dated 7 May 2016.

On 15 February 2016, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy met with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad to discuss the measures required to plug the loopholes in the law which allow the perpetrators of honour killings to walk free.[41] On the 22nd of February 2016, the first screening of A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness was held at the Prime Minister's Secretariat in Islamabad, opened by remarks made by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif himself - concerning the amendments needed to prevent honour killings from occurring in Pakistan.[42]

On the 28 February 2016, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness won her a second Oscar for Best Documentary, Short Subject at the 88th Academy Awards. This is the first Oscar win for her film company SOC Films and the second Oscar for Obaid-Chinoy as Director.[43]

Her latest commercial venture "Sulagta Sitara" is a ground breaking documentary series which will be released on the ARY Digital in 2016. The series will share the stories of cities in Pakistan which have experienced unequivocal hardship, but still manage to shine bright through the darkness.

Filmography

Year Film Role Director Producer Notes
2002 Terror's Children Reporter Yes Yes
2003 Reinventing the Taliban? Yes Yes
2004 On a Razor's Edge Yes Yes
2005 Women of the Holy Kingdom Yes Yes
2005 Pakistan's Double Game Yes
2006 Highway of Tears Yes
2006 City of Guilt Yes
2006 Cold Comfort Yes Yes
2006 The New Apertheid Yes
2006 Assimilation No, Integration Yes Yes
2007 Afghanistan Unveiled Yes
2007 Birth of a Nation Yes
2008 Iraq: The Lost Generation Yes
2009 Pakistan's Taliban Generation Yes
2010 Transgender: Pakistan's Open Secret Yes
2012 Saving Face Yes Yes Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary
2013 Humaira: The Dream Catcher Yes Yes
2014 Seeds of Change Yes Yes
2014 Aghaz e Safar Yes TV series
2015 3 Bahadur Yes Yes
2015 A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness Yes Yes Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary
2015 Song of Lahore Yes Yes
2016 3 Bahadur: The Revenge of Baba Balaam Yes Yes

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2007 One World Media Broadcast Journalist of the Year Award Won
2010 International Emmy Award Best Current Affairs Pakistan's Taliban Generation Won
Livingston Award Young Journalists - Best International Reporting Won
2012 Academy Award Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) Saving Face Won
New York Indian Film Festival Best Documentary Won
SAARC Film Awards Best Documentary Prize Won
Government of Pakistan Contribution to arts Tamgha-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Distinction) Honorary
Lux Style Awards Lux Style Achievement Award Won
2013 Crystal Award Outstanding efforts in Promoting Human Rights and Women's Issues through Film Won
Emmy Award Best Documentary Saving Face Won
Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form
Outstanding Science and Technology Programming
Outstanding Cinematography Documentary and Long Form
Outstanding Research
2016 Academy Award Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness Won

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Rachel Quigley (2012-03-15). "TIME magazine 100 most influential people 2012 list includes Pippa and Kate Middleton | Mail Online". London: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  2. 1 2 3 Correspondent, Our. "The 2012 TIME 100: Justice Chaudhry, Obaid-Chinoy among Time's 100 influential people, The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  3. 1 2 "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy '02". www.smith.edu. Retrieved 2016-03-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stanford Magazine - Article". alumni.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  5. 1 2 Obaid-Chinoy, Sharmeen. "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy | Speaker | TED.com". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Dawn 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2011
  7. ↑ "Pakistan's Oscar triumph for acid attack film Saving Face". BBC News. 27 February 2012.
  8. 1 2 "Glory: Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy bags an Emmy". dawn.com.
  9. 1 2 Canadian Broadcast Company's Post-Oscar interview with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/audioplayer.html?clipid=2202643558
  10. 1 2 "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy dreams of Pakistan's first Oscar". BBC News. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  11. 1 2 Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy wins an Emmy for Pakistan 28 September 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2010
  12. 1 2 3 4 Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Wins Emmy for "Children of the Taliban" All Things Pakistan. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 23 March 2011
  13. 1 2 Qureshi, Huma (1 March 2012). "Pakistan's first Oscar-winner should be celebrated for exposing the 'bad bits'". The Guardian. London.
  14. 1 2 "Pakistan lauds Oscar-winning filmmaker - Yahoo! News Singapore". Sg.news.yahoo.com. 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  15. 1 2 "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's documentary bags Oscar nomination - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  16. 1 2 "Sharmeen appointed honorary ambassador of blood safety". The Nation. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  17. ↑ "Pakistan's Oscar triumph for acid attack film Saving Face". BBC News. Nosheen Abbas. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  18. ↑ Oscar-winning Pakistani Filmmaker Inspired by Canada http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/story/2012/02/28/oscar-saving-face-obaid-chinoy.html
  19. ↑ Clark, Alex (2016-02-14). "The case of Saba Qaiser and the film-maker determined to put an end to 'honour' killings". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  20. 1 2 "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy fights to end honour killings with her film A Girl in the River". www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  21. ↑ Salmaan Taseer, Meera, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy to be decorated with civil awards, The Express Tribune, March 23, 2012
  22. ↑ "Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy makes it to Time's 100 Most Influential People list | Pakistan Today | Latest news | Breaking news | Pakistan News | World news | Business | Sport and Multimedia". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  23. ↑ "CJ, Sharmeen on Time list of influential people". Dawn.Com. 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  24. ↑ "Leading News Resource of Pakistan". Daily Times. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  25. ↑ "Song of Lahore - Trailer & Movie Site - November 13, 2015". Song of Lahore.
  26. ↑ "http://www.thewrap.com/joyous-tribeca-doc-song-of-lahore-shows-how-pakistani-music-came-back-from-the-dead/". External link in |title= (help)
  27. ↑ "The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival Audience Awards Winners Are... - Tribeca". Tribeca.
  28. ↑ "Broad Green Pictures". broadgreen.com.
  29. ↑ "http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/23/oscars-2016-documentary-submissions". External link in |title= (help)
  30. ↑ "Song of Lahore - IDFA". idfa.nl.
  31. ↑ "Dubai International Film Festival - Films 2015 - SONG OF LAHORE". Dubai International Film Festival.
  32. ↑ "Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy wins second Oscar Award". Daily Pakistan Global. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  33. ↑ "http://www.brandsynario.com/3-bahadur-makes-over-6-5-crore-in-six-weeks/". External link in |title= (help)
  34. ↑ http://www.hipinpakistan.com/news/11477242015
  35. ↑ "Peacekeepers". Peacekeepers.
  36. ↑ "Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy's new documentary premieres at Toronto Film Festival". The Nation. 11 September 2015.
  37. ↑ Toronto International Film Festival. "TIFF.net - A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers". TIFF.
  38. ↑ "JIO MAMI WITH STAR INDIA". mumbaifilmfestival.com.
  39. ↑ "A JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES: PEACEKEEPERS". DOCNYC.
  40. ↑ "UN Live United Nations Web TV - Opening remarks and Panel discussion following the screening of the Film "A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers"". Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  41. ↑ "PM Nawaz meets Sharmeen Obaid, vows to remove 'stain' of honour killings from Pakistan". The Express Tribune. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  42. ↑ "PM house full: Screening of Sharmeen Chinoy's documentary today". The Express Tribune. 22 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
  43. ↑ "Oscar Winners 2016: The Complete List". The New York Times. 29 February 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
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