“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” won the Academy Award for best documentary short at the star-studded ceremony in Hollywood
LOS ANGELES – Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who made history by winning Pakistan’s first Oscar four years ago, has won the best documentary short Oscar for her film, “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.”
The documentary which sheds light on honour killings in Pakistan follows the story of a teenage girl shot in the face by her own family.
“This is what happens when determined women get together,” a triumphant Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy declared to cheers from the celeb-studded crowd.
“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,” Chinoy praised.
Filmmaker Sharmeen, who read about her ordeal one morning in the newspaper, tracked her down and filmed Saba’s story over eight to nine months in 2014.
The film follows 19-year-old Saba, a survivor of an attempted honour killing who was beaten, shot and thrown into a river after she ran off to marry a man. At the last moment, she tilted her head, meaning the bullet grazed her cheek instead of shattering her skull. In a rarity for such attacks, she not only survived but went to police.
“That is the power of film, ‘I think if the film were to win an Academy Award, then the issue of honour killing, which doesn’t just affect women in Pakistan but affects women around the world, would really gain traction,’ Chinoy said at the Oscars.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif congratulated Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy on winning an Oscar award for a second time for her documentary “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.
“Women like Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy 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 added.
“A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness” is set to air on HBO Canada on March 7.
Many congratulate Sharmeen on Twitter:
@sharmeenochinoy congratulions on your second Oscar.You do us proud
— Azmi Shabana (@AzmiShabana) February 29, 2016
She did it! Oscar #2 for @sharmeenochinoy & #Pakistan. There is no honour in killing #girlintheriver pic.twitter.com/DDmNWYwhQv
— Saima Mohsin (@SaimaMohsin) February 29, 2016
Congrats @sharmeenochinoy, Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker, for winning #Oscar for A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness documentary.
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) February 29, 2016