Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy announced a film grant worth Rs. 10 million on Friday for Pakistani women. The grant is under a funding and mentorship program called ‘Stories from Southern Pakistan’ by Patakha Pictures.
This is Patakha Pictures’ third mentorship program and will feature female filmmakers from Sindh and Balochistan, who will make 10 films under mentors from the US and Scotland.
The ace filmmaker said, “I have been so inspired by the success of Patakha Pictures’ funding programs,” and added, “I feel extremely proud to be launching our third and largest-ever funding program for female filmmakers in Pakistan.”
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy explained,
We know that this funding is critical for filmmakers to realize their filmmaking dreams and this time around, we’re making a special effort to recruit women from smaller towns and villages in Sindh and Balochistan.
The film grant is being launched in partnership with Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) and the US Consulate General Karachi.
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy mentioned that “20 filmmakers from across Sindh and Balochistan will be selected, and 10 films will be created over a nine-month period”.
Each selected pair will be given up to Rs. 1 million to create 10 short documentaries.
Patakha Pictures aims to nurture, support, and develop the creative skills of the selected filmmakers, and allow them to showcase their work to new local and international audiences.
The training period will be from January to August 2023, and will include bi-monthly virtual workshops. The workshops will have a mixture of seminars and consultant-led advice sessions conducted by international experts. The mentorship will also include seminars on storytelling, developing narratives and characters, directing, sound design, and editing.
A Chance to Empower Pakistan’s Female Filmmakers
Patakha Pictures has launched this program to empower a new generation of Pakistani filmmakers and give women a chance to create engaging films that tackle sensitive societal themes such as violence against women, female empowerment, education, minorities, arts, culture, climate change, and peace-building.
The first grant was launched this February for 10 female filmmakers who worked in pairs over the course of 12 weeks to hone their creative skills to come up with five short films. All five of the films are being screened around the world at various international film festivals. Two of them also won international awards.
The second grant was for a documentary maker that was selected as a Taiwan Pitch Pakistan Fellow Grantee. The participant worked in the Talent Village workshop and received a fund of $10,000 to create a short non-fiction film.
About Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a Pakistani-Canadian journalist, filmmaker, and activist. She is best known for her Oscar-winning documentaries Saving Face, and A Girl in the River:The Price of Forgiveness.
As per recent news, she will soon be directing a new Star Wars film soon. American screenwriter, Damon Lindelof, is reportedly is working on a script for it, which means actual production work on the film is yet to begin.
