Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy شرمین عبید چنائے
Obaid-Chinoy at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2013
Born	(1978-11-12) 12 November 1978 Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani
Occupation	Filmmaker, journalist
Years active	2002-present
Religion	Islam
Website	Official website

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (Urdu: شرمین عبید چنائے‎; born 12 November 1978) is a Pakistani journalist and filmmaker.^[1][2] She won an Academy Award and two Emmy Awards for her documentaries Pakistan's Taliban Generation in 2010^[3] and Saving Face in 2012.^[4] Her Oscar win for Best Documentary for Saving Face made her the first Pakistani to win an Academy Award.^[5][6][7] She is also the first non-American to win the Livingston Award for Young Journalists.^{[7][8][9][10][11]}

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.^[12] Time magazine named Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy in its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for 2012.^{[13][14][15][16]} Sharmeen was ranked 37th on Desiclub.com’s list of the 50 Coolest Desis of 2009.^[17]

On April 19, 2015, Song of Lahore^[18] Directed and produced by her and Andy Schocken premiered at Tribeca Film Festival^[19] and was the Runner Up to the Tribeca Audience Choice Award.^[20] In September 2015, Broad Green Pictures^[21] 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 stated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[22] Song of Lahore European Premiere was at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)^[23] from 18 to 29 November 2015. The film had its Middle Eastern premiere at the 12th Annual Dubai International Film Festival^[24] in December 2015.

On May 22, 2015, Pakistan's first animated movie, 3 Bahadur, 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.^[25] 3 Bahadur also screened at the Montreal Film Festival^[26] in Canada, in August 2015.

On September 11, 2015, Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers^[27] Obaid-Chinoy's feature documentary, co-directed and produced with Geeta Gandbhir, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival^[28][29] 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^[30] on 29 October 2015 for its Asian premiere and played at the DOC NYC^[31] Festival in November 2015.

On 14 January 2016 Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's documentary A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness was one of five films worldwide to be nominated in the category of "Best Documentary - Short Subject" by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[32][33] This is Chinoy's second nomination, and the first Oscar nomination for her production house, SOC Films.

Personal life

Obaid-Chinoy was born into a Sindhi - Muslim family in Karachi, Pakistan, to Sheikh Obaid and Saba Obaid. After completing her A-Levels from Karachi Grammar School, she went to the United States, where she enrolled at Smith College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree. She then received two degrees: A master's in communication and a master's in International Policy Studies whilst studying as a postgraduate at Stanford University.

Obaid-Chinoy is married to Fahd Chinoy, and has a daughter, Amelia Chinoy. In an interview with The Times of India, she said she makes films because of her daughter: "I want the Pakistan that she inherits to be better than the one we currently live in."^[34]

Activism

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is crusading against the Honour killing in Pakistan. As Pakistan’s one and only Oscar award winner — her Saving Face brought home the coveted statuette back in 2012 — Sharmeen’s name immediately adds credibility to her efforts against honour killing. Sharmeen’s A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness depicts the horror of Honor killing within Pakistan. The documentary won Oscar award winner in 2012.^[35]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

See also

• List of Pakistani journalists

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.

• Website for Sharmeen Obaid Films
• LUMS 2012 Convocation Address
• Exclusive Interview of Sharmeen Obaid New Production 3 Bahadur with Fashioncentral
• Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy Oscar award
• Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy at Women Make Movies