“My films are motivated by a keen interest in highlighting issues that affect marginalized populations who are caught in difficult circumstances.” FilmDifficultInterestIssuesCircumstancesCaughtPopulationMotivatedMarginalizedDifficult CircumstancesHighlighting Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“I'd like to do a film in Canada, but it's too difficult. National Film Board funding takes too long, and there's too much paperwork; by the time the film is approved the topic is dead and gone.” LongFilmDifficultGoneToo MuchBoardsCanadaTopicsFundingApprovedPaperwork Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“In December 2011, I will be opening up my production house, Sharmeen Obaid Films, and aspire to change the way Pakistanis approach nonfiction storytelling. There are thousands of stories to be found here.” WayStoriesFilmFoundHouseApproachProductionsOpeningStorytellingNonfictionAspireDecemberOpening Up Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“It's often said that I choose subjects that are sensational! I choose to film subjects that spark difficult conversations and make people uncomfortable. Change only comes about when people are forced to discuss an issue, and that's what I hope my films do.” PeopleSaidFilmDifficultIssuesSubjectsConversationUncomfortableSparksSensationalDifficult Conversations Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“When the film and music industries declined in the wake of increasingly conservative Muslim laws and social customs in Pakistan, many of these musicians found themselves out of work. They were brought together at Sachal Studios by Izzat Majeed, who built the studio in order to preserve these musical traditions.” TogetherFilmLawOrderFoundSocialIndustryMusicianBuiltTraditionMusicalConservativeStudiosPreservesCustomsPakistanMusic IndustryFilm And Music Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“There were a lot of unique challenges in producing the film, such as the logistical issues inherent in producing a long-term verite film in Pakistan, dealing with Urdu and Punjabi dialogue with an English-speaking editor and all the difficulties in recording, editing and clearing so many music tracks.” LongFilmTermChallengesIssuesUniqueDifficultyTrackDialogueLong TermEditorsInherentEditingPakistanClearingEnglish SpeakingUrduPunjabis Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“But the biggest challenge overall was narrowing down the complex narrative elements into a clean and straightforward story while maintaining a sense of the cultural context that makes the film special.” StoriesFilmChallengesSpecialElementsCleanComplexesNarrativeMaintainingStraightforward Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
“I became a documentary filmmaker because I wanted to make socially conscious films. I never studied filmmaking - everything I have learned has been on the field.” Has BeensWantedFilmFieldsConsciousFilmmakerFilmmakingI Have LearnedDocumentaries Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
