Film Screening: "A Girl in the River" by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Join us for a screening and discussion about the 2016 Oscar-winning film A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, by filmmaker and Stanford International Policy Studies program alumna Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
More than 1,000 women are killed in the name of "honor" in Pakistan every year. A Girl in the River follows the story of a rare survivor who lives to tell the tale. Winner of Best Documentary Short at the 2016 Academy Awards, the film examines the contradictions between modernism and tradition within Pakistani society, and uncovers the complex and violent forces faced by women in the country. After viewing this film, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to act against the "despicable" practice.
A conversation with Jamie Meltzer, Associate Professor in Stanford's M.F.A. Program in Documentary Film and Video, will follow the screening.
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*Previously, SGS was planning to screen A Journey of A Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers. This screening has been replaced by A Girl in the River.
About Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is an Academy and Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work centers on human rights and women’s issues. She has made over a dozen multi-award winning films in over 10 countries around the world, and has worked with refugees and marginalized communities from Saudi Arabia to Syria and from Timor Leste to the Philippines. By bringing their voices to the forefront, she has often helped them bring about a critical change in their community.
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Obaid-Chinoy received her B.A. from Smith College, and two master's degrees from Stanford University: International Policy Studies ('03) and Communication ('04).
In 2012, Obaid-Chinoy set up an independent production house SOC FILMS in Karachi which specializes in producing investigative and socially motivated content. She also spearheads Pakistan’s first film animation production house Waadi Animations which produced Pakistan’s first feature length animated film 3 Bahadur.
Time Magazine included her in their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2012. That same year, the Pakistani government awarded her a Hilal-e-Imtiaz, a state honor, for her services to Arts and Culture.
In 2013, the Canadian government awarded Obaid-Chinoy a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her work in the field of documentary films and the World Economic Forum honored her with a Crystal Award at their annual summit in Davos.
In 2014, the Asia Society in New York honored her with an Asia Game Changer Award which recognized 12 individuals making a positive difference for the future of Asia and the world.
Visit her website for more information.
Recent interviews:
- BBC News (February 2016)
- CNN's Fareed Zakara GPS (January 2016)
- CNN International with Chirstianne Amanpour (February 2016)
- Huffington Post (includes video of her Oscar acceptance speech, February 2016)
- Oscars website (February 2016)
Filmography
- A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness Academy Award for Best Documentary Short (2016)
- Song of Lahore (2015)
- 3 Bahadur (2015)
- A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers (2014)
- Humaira: The Dream Catcher (2013)
- Saving Face Academy Award for Best Documentary Emmy Award for Best Documentary; Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form (2012)
- Transgender: Pakistan's Open Secret (2010)
- Pakistan's Taliban Generation Emmy Award for Best Documentary, Current Affairs Category (2009)
- Iraq: The Lost Generation (2008)
- Birth of a Nation (2007)
- Afghanistan Unveiled (2007)
- Assimilation No, Integration Yes (2006)
- The New Apertheid (2006)
- Cold Comfort (2006)
- City of Guilt (2006)
- Highway of Tears (2006)
- Pakistan's Double Game (2005)
- Women of the Holy Kingdom (2005)
- On a Razor's Edge (2004)
- Reinventing the Taliban? (2003)
- Terror's Children (2003)