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Winners of the Best Documentary Short Subject for the Pakistani film "Saving Face," Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy poses with the trophy in the press room at the 84th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday in Hollywood.
It's being called "Pakistan's Oscar," but 33-year-old filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy will be the one bringing the award home.
The Karachi native's latest film, "Saving Face," which chronicles the lives of acid attacks victims in Pakistan and the doctor working to help them, made history Sunday night at the 84th Academy Awards by winning Pakistan's first Oscar ever. The film was co-directed by American filmmaker Daniel Junge, and will air on HBO on March 8th.
Obaid-Chinoy accepted the award for Documentary Short Subject on stage and dedicated it to "all the women in Pakistan who are working for change – don't give up on your dreams."
Award for all Pakistanis
In an interview with NBC News in Karachi before leaving for the awards in Los Angeles, Obaid-Chinoy said she felt the support of the entire nation, and hoped she could make Pakistan proud by bringing home an Oscar. Some of her fans' reactions confirm she's done just that.
NBC's Pakistan chief correspondent Amna Nawaz reports on the significance of the first Academy Award nod for Pakistan, for Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's "Saving Face."
Immediately following her win, proud Pakistanis – watching early-morning satellite feeds of the awards ceremony halfway across the world – took to the web to share their glee and congratulate their fellow countryman. For a brief moment, "Saving Face" became one of the top ten trends, worldwide, on Twitter.
"I walk a prouder #Pakistani today coz of you @sharmeenochinoy and your #Oscar win!!" tweeted @samrammuslim.
"Pakistan wins 1st #Oscar r hero @sharmeenochinoy," tweeted @asmiather.
Networks across Pakistan broadcast breaking news alerts to announce Obaid-Chinoy's win. Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani announced the nation would confer the filmmaker with the highest civilian award upon her return.
'The Artist' rules Academy Awards
In a statement released after the Oscars, Obaid-Chinoy said she was "deeply humbled and blown away by the outpouring of support and well wishes."
She also posted a Facebook message, dedicating the award "to the men in my life who have shaped the person I am today! My father & my husband I love you both!" Her husband, Fahad, and she were high school sweethearts, and are the proud parents of a daughter – Amelia – now a toddler.
Obaid-Chinoy's father died suddenly in 2008 as the filmmaker was en route to the Emmy Award ceremony in New York, to accept the award for her film investigating the Taliban's recruitment of child suicide bombers in Pakistan. She called that win, "bittersweet," but said she knew her father was watching down on her at the Oscars.
"My parents have been very supportive from the very beginning," she told NBC News. "We're five sisters and a brother. My father brought us up as sons, not as his daughters. Had my father and mother not given us that platform or those opportunities, I don't know if I would be sitting here in front of you today."
Watch the trailer for the Academy Award winning HBO documentary "Saving Face."
Dedicated to telling Pakistan’s story
While she admits she considers the Oscar to be "THE award," Obaid-Chinoy said she remains focused on the problems in her home country and the issues she hopes to highlight through her work.
"There are so many stories in this country," she told NBC News. "We have close to 40 news channels, and most of them are talking about terrorism and the impact of terrorism. If you watch that, you begin to think there's nothing else in this country."
She is currently developing a television series to air in Pakistan highlighting the efforts of "real heroes" working to bring change in their communities.
"That," she said, "is how you inspire hope."
On the Oscars' "Thank You Cam," Obaid-Chinoy, clutching her gold statue, again thanked her family for their support, but quickly turned her comments back to her hopes for her country's future.
"To everyone in Pakistan, who fights against terrorism every single day," she said, "this, is for you."
NBC's Fakhar Rehman in Islamabad contributed to this report.
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This is the best publicity a troubled nation such as Pakistan can have. A documentary, filmed by a women, about abused women in a society that does not condone equal rights. Way to go!!!!!
Hopefully this message of hope will sink in.
She'll probably be killed next time she goes to Pakistan, now.
It's easy to think of Pakistan as nothing more than a country full of backwards sheepherders. We need stories like this to point out they're people too, with many of the same hopes for the future, and that they hate terrorism just as much as we do.
Derek - what an enlightened comment! Such blurbs are great attention-getters, but they rarely convey an accurate portrayal of reality. And your comment does just that - short and catchy, but woefully simplistic.
if they hated terrorism they would be eradicating it from their nation...at this time they are not , ergo they don't...nice try though
Jonathan - Derek's comment may be simplistic but unfortunately, it has been shown to be true too often. There are too many in that country that have killed to satisfy some ridiculous notion of "honor". I hope that Ms. Chinoy remains safe and gets the admiration and support she deserves.
All good comments, sparking an interesting dialogue that needs to had. I wish Ms. Chinoy the absolute best! She definitely deserves continued support and encouragement. She also directed another amazing documentary, Highway of Tears. I encourage everyone to check it out if they can.
All good comments, sparking an interesting dialogue that needs to be had. I wish Ms. Chinoy the absolute best! She definitely deserves continued support and encouragement. She also directed another amazing documentary, Highway of Tears. I encourage everyone to check it out if they can.
All good comments, sparking an interesting dialogue that needs to had. I wish Ms. Chinoy the absolute best! She definitely deserves continued support and encouragement. She also directed another amazing documentary, Highway of Tears. I encourage everyone to check it out if they can.
The only muslim country to have a female prime minister...
And yet we have never had a female president. What does that say about us as a country and culture?
That we really, really don't like Hillary?
Bangladesh currently has a female Prime Minister too (and had another female prime minister before the present on). Turkey also had one, Tansu Ciller. Indonesia has had a female President too - Megawati Sukarnoputri. Kyrgyzstan had a female President too, and Senegal had a female Prime Minister. Kosovo currently has a female president.
Have you seen the film? Do you know what it is about? Pakistan claims the honor as if they, the entire country, won this award; this Oscar? Beyond that they have said they will bestow all possible national honors on the filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
The film is about "the stories of female acid attack survivors and the London-based Pakistani plastic surgeon who travels to Pakistan to operate on these women."
If I can get Caleb Deschanel, who I feel is America's greatest cinematographer, to join me I will win next years Oscar with a film on American females, the one in four under the age of 18, who have been sexually abused. That will without a doubt win the hearts of the Hollywooders.
MrCool: You started to make a great point, but then ruined it with Hollywood bashing. What I thought you were going to say was that Pakistan is very proud of a movie that highlights a national disgrace just because it won an Oscar. Pakistan should be ashamed of itself, not rejoicing.
Yup. But she was assassinated.
She is toast. The Taliban cannot allow a woman to tell them that men are wrong for hurting women. It is not like she is something useful to a muslim man like a donkey or a young boy, she is just a woman and she should live in a sack and be having babies (perferably boys) and cooking food. She is only a WOMAN. She must be suicidial. Next she'll film something even worse like woman that have orgasms or independent thoughts. That will it for sure.
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. Your views of Pakistan are completely warped. Look at her, she wears no headscarf and doesnt cover her head. That doesnt make her a rebel in Pakistan, that makes her a NORMAL middle class urban woman in this country. The only place she would stick out is in Peshawar in the conservative northwest. And that is where the violence in Pakistan almost always occurs, in that one region. The whole of Pakistan, with its tens of thousands of villages and a plethora of major cities, is not in the grip Islamic fundamentalism as you may assume.
Jonathan, I'm afraid you also have no idea what you're talking about. Pakistan was created by the British to have somewhere to get all the Muslims out of India. Pakistan is totally overrun with Islam because it was created to contain Islam.
@UDunnoBro... Wt hec..k r u trying to say? Taliban are all ex-CIA agents, stop blaming Pakistanis. First, you create these monsters on our land with the help of jack @zzzz friends from Saudia and later blame us. Next time, drop few nukes on Saudia, 99% of world problems will be resolved.
@frogman, go back to your priest and confess your sins by bending over. Your priests love ur @@ more than anything, freaking gay nation.
"Taliban are all ex-CIA agents"
hahaha...that's some stupidazz shyte!...buffoon
Ms. Obaid-Chinoy congratulations. Your success makes me proud to be a part of this great country called America.
Some day love will triumph over all. In the mean time, it's great to have heroes from every culture willing to take big risks to do what is right. Congratulations!
Im so proud for my country!
Im so proud for my country!
Be proud of Ms.Sharmeen but be ashamed of your country where acid attacks and goodness knows what have been a daily occurrence since decades upon decades.
Fix the problems and then be proud.
She is to be applauded for her dedication and positive energy as she attempts to encourage her country's citizens to be proud and work for good. It takes courage and grace, both of which she demonstrates.
Congratulations to her and I pray that her success brings alot of goodwill in her our country and ours.....
I just read the headline - I thought Pakistan had won an Oscar for pretending they didn't know Osama Bin Laden was hiding there...
I guess I should read the article...... :-)
She said she is so proud for her country? My question is Why?? A country that Harbor's Terrorist's and are probably Terrorist's themselves. And they are NO friends of our's. I'm Glad the Oscar was made in China.
@Tarzan, please describe your origins? American? Italian? British? African? Your nickname does not suggest anything but your sheer hate for Pakistan. It is easy to hate illiterate people but not easy to get in their shoes and see life from their eyes. There is no excuse nor place for these horrific acts done by criminals. Don't forget that your so called civilized western world kills, rapes, tortures their females everyday, there is no difference where the crime happens. It is one low act of some very arrogant people in Pakistan or abroad. Sadly, people like you try to get a kick out of it. Here are few examples of how you guys treat your women...
[remove the spaces in the URL below]
http : // articles .cnn.com /2010-01-07 /justice/florida .model.death_1_trash-bin-boyfriend-miami-police?_s=PM:CRIME
[remove spaces in the URL below]
http: // www . findingdulcinea .com/news/on-this-day /September-October-08/On-this-Day--White-Boston-Man-Kills-Pregnant-Wife--Blames-Imaginary-Black-Man.html
[Rehanna beaten — remove spaces from the URL below]
http:// today.msnbc.msn. com/id/29295842/ns /today-entertainment/t/tmz-posts-photo-it-claims-beaten-rihanna/
Fix your problems first chipmunk.
CrazyBlogger > There is a higher likelihood of justice in almost any other country. How many of the acid attackers ever got arrested? No one condoned any of violence shown in any of your links but violence towards women in pakistan is CONDONED by village elders and a large population of lower class males.
Fix your problems crazy blogger before blindly defending your country and being proud of it. Do something to fix it and then be proud.
Good thing acid doesn't damage gold. Maybe she can use it like a shield when she gets home.
The courage of those two beautiful people is astounding! Here in the States we take 'saying what is on our minds' for granted. In so-called Muslim nations -- where the religion of Al Islam (that Came-From-God) has been hijacked by godless, asinine swines -- speaking-the-Truth can get you killed, raped or jailed in the NAME of Allah (The One God). There are hundreds of MILLIONS of Muslims around the world whom are being held hostage by the Nazi, Brown Shirts found in the religion of Islam. This makes it only too easy for the buffoons found in Christianity, Judaism ,or NO religion at all, to attack the entire religion of Islam. As the saying goes, "Where there is dirt you will find a cock roach." For any people whom are blindly critical of ALL Muslims, keep in mind that it was so-called Christians who invaded Africa, Asia and the Americas instituting savage slavery, committing genocide upon tens of millions of people in wars founded upon the godlessness of barbarian racism, exploitation, and mindless greed. So, yeah, THAT'S nothing new in our sick human history, and MOST of our 7,500 various ethnic groups in the world are guilty of some form of malice/hatred, or domination.
One other note: Isn't it amazing that in a film industry where "Jews" were allowed to do business such a documentary was given an Oscar? Have not the Muslim women been brutalized and hated, just as the Jewish people have been? Is there any wonder WHY so many honorable and loving Jews through the years have stood by American blacks, died with American blacks as they fought for basic civil rights granted to whites when-they-were-born? That Oscar, that BEAUTIFUL Oscar, is the MOST significant one given last night, and stands not only as a testimony to human courage and dignity, but also as a bitter indictment against the demons committing acts-of-hatred against the daughters of God whom are superior to men and boys. If WOMEN ruled the world there would be NO acid attacks, and the WARS would e-n-d!
So mr rob and tarzan have objection about the citizenship of miss chinoy if she was from elsewhere not from Pakistan then she had the rt to be proud of her country and u had the honour of approving it ......good observation...i think here is a matter of discussion on a heroic act of a woman,i think we must have a heart to acknowledge a good work.....or otherwise keep negative propaganda within...................
On the occasion of International Women Day, my Poem: Acid Attacks dedicated to Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy "SAVING FACE" a stunning achievement done by her. My poem depicts the voice of women survivors of acid attacks, who are facing countless difficulties in all walks of life.
URL LINK:
On the occasion of International Women Day, my Poem: Acid Attacks dedicated to Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy "SAVING FACE" a stunning achievement done by her. My poem depicts the voice of women survivors of acid attacks, who are facing countless difficulties in all walks of life.
URL LINK: