''Saving Face'' is a 2012

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

directed by

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy ( ur, ; born 12 November 1978) is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, filmmaker and activist known for her work in films that highlight the inequality with women. She is the recipient of two Academy Awards, seven Emmy Awar ...

and

Daniel Junge Daniel Junge (born ) is an American documentary filmmaker. On February 26, 2012, he won the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for the film '' Saving Face'', which he co-directed along with Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chino ...

about

acid attack An acid attack, also called acid throwing, vitriol attack, or vitriolage, is a form of violent assault involving the act of throwing acid or a similarly corrosive substance onto the body of another "with the intention to disfigure, maim, tortu ...

s on women in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The film won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and the

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject This is a list of films by year that have received an Academy Award together with the other nominations for best documentary short film. Following the Academy's practice, the year listed for each film is the year of release: the awards are annou ...

, making its director, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Pakistan's first Oscar winner. The film was inspired from the life of acid victim

Fakhra Younus Fakhra Younus ( ur, فاخرہ یونس; 1979 – 17 March 2012) was a Pakistani woman who was the victim of an acid attack, which severely injured her face. She underwent 39 surgeries during a 10-year period. She died by suicide at age 33. Biogra ...

, who died by suicide in 2012.

Synopsis

''Saving Face'' features two women attacked by acid and their struggle for justice and healing. It follows London-based Pakistani

plastic surgeon Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniof ...

Dr. Mohammad Jawad as he journeys to

to perform

reconstructive surgery Reconstructive surgery is surgery performed to restore normal appearance and function to body parts malformed by a disease or medical condition. Description Reconstructive surgery is a term with training, clinical, and reimbursement implica ...

on survivors of acid violence. ''Saving Face'' broaches the subject of the under-reporting of acid

violence against women Violence against women (VAW), also known as gender-based violence and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), are violent acts primarily or exclusively committed against women or girls, usually by men or boys. Such violence is often consi ...

due to cultural and structural inequalities towards women from Pakistani men. The Acid Survivors Foundation of Pakistan, which is featured in the film, had documented more than 100 acid attacks a year in Pakistan but estimates far more due to lack of reporting. Obaid-Chinoy has stated that the film is "a positive story about Pakistan on two accounts: firstly, it portrays how a Pakistani-British doctor comes to treat them and it also discusses, in great depth, the parliament’s decision to pass a bill on acid violence". She has said that the film assisted in the trial and conviction of one of the perpetrators of acid violence.‘Saving Face’ Filmmaker on Shooting Documentaries in Pakistan
/ref>

Production

Obaid-Chinoy chose the subject of acid violence after being contacted by Junge, who had already filmed portions of the documentary prior to their discussion. Obaid-Chinoy commented to ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' that "The subject matter immediately appealed to me: Acid violence impacts women in southern Punjab and changes the lives of hundreds of women each year." The documenters initially had some difficulty contacting and gaining the trust of the survivors in the film as well as connecting with the local community, but stated that "once we had spent a considerable amount of time on the ground and had established relationships, we did not experience any further obstacles."

Controversy

Obaid-Chinoy has faced criticism over allegations that she promised acid victim Rukhsana assistance in the form of money, a new home, and plastic surgery in return for participating in the film. Rukhsana filed a lawsuit against Obaid-Chinoy that stated that the director made her sign blank documents and that the film resulted in her husband evicting her from her home and her family ceasing communication with her. Obaid-Chinoy refuted the claims, replying that she did not promise Rukhsana any assistance and that Rukhsana had turned down offers to have Jawad operate upon her. The

Acid Survivors Foundation The Acid Survivors Foundation is a Bangladeshi non-governmental organisation dedicated to raising awareness and preventing acid attacks and providing survivors with medical and legal aid. History The Foundation was founded in Dhaka in 1999 b ...

and Rukhsana filed a civil suit to keep ''Saving Face'' from being shown in Pakistan, to which Obaid-Chinoy agreed to honor despite having airing rights.Acid-attack survivor sues Sharmeen Obaid, filmmaker refutes claims - Dawn.com
/ref>

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Official film page

''Saving Face''
at

Women Make Movies Women Make Movies is a non-profit feminist media arts organization based in New York City. Founded by Ariel Dougherty and Sheila Paige with Dolores Bargowski, WMM was first a feminist production collective that emerged from city-wide Women's Li ...

''Saving Face''
at

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