Beginning writing at the age of 14, and earning Pakistan’s first-ever Oscar Award, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy made all Pakistanis proud and gave hope for a greater and brighter future for the country.
Known for her documentaries, and for dealing with life in the film world, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy enjoys huge appreciation for her work in Journalism and Documentary Filmmaking. With a dozen multi-award-winning films in over 10 countries around the world, being the first non-American to be awarded the Livingston Award for best international reporting, ranking in the list of 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.
Having been awarded Hilal-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan’s second highest civilian award, and nominated as SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS, Sharmeen is interested in telling stories of the marginalized communities; people whose voices were never heard and whose compelling stories needed to be shared.
Sharmeen Ubed Chinoy is a beacon light for the women in our society who do not believe in making tall claims about bringing change, but rather who is always ready and affirmative to contribute to raising awareness about social issues and proposing solutions.
Sharmeen has a strong conviction that women have a rich potential of affecting change in so many spheres of society, but the circumstances are not that supportive to highlight their contributions. In all her documentaries, she captures the social issues and projects that change can take place and we can create a better community.
Through her multifarious task-taking, she has also established that nothing is impossible if women themselves have the determination to take the first step, as we observe that besides documenting and filmmaking, she has been a faculty member at SZABIST, Karachi, President of “The Citizens Archive of Pakistan’ and the guest speaker at many national and international academic and non-academic organizations.
Risk-taking and believing in oneself or two main elements of achieving success: this is the message which we witness everywhere in the work of Sharmeen. She educates us to believe in our dreams and pursue them because dreams are easy to achieve, we only have to believe in ourselves and keep on knocking at doors, and eventually, the doors of opportunity will open for us.
Human Rights and women’s issues are under the prominent focus of media, NGOs, and individuals in the current times. We are incessantly motivated that women are being oppressed, subjugated, discriminated against, marginalized, and sexually assaulted, but very few of the proponents have firsthand experience of witnessing such circumstances. Sharmeen lives close to reality to discern the good from the bad.
She has worked with refugees and marginalized communities from Saudi Arabia to Syria and from Timer to the Philippines. She also spent some time in refugee camps in Pakistan. After her deep routed commitment, she was voted one of the top five millennial women who have been fighting against domestic and societal violence.
Awards and Nominations for Shamreen Obaid Chinoy
A list of awards and nominations for Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is given below:
| Year | Award | Category | Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | One World Media | Broadcast Journalist of the Year Award | |
| 2010 | Emmy Awards | Best Documentary | Pakistan’s Taliban Generation |
| 2012 | 1. Academy Award 2. New York Indian Film Festival 3. SAARC Film Awards 4. Glamour Awards 5. Government of Pakistan | 1. Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject 2. Best Documentary 3. Best Documentary Prize 4. The Lifesaver 5. Contribution to arts Hilal-i-Imtiaz | Saving Face |
| 2013 | 1. Crystal Award 2. Emmy Awards | 1. Outstanding efforts in Promoting Human Rights and Women’s Issues through Film 2. Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form | Saving Face |
| 2014 | Asia Game Changer Award | For eye-opening films that give voice to the voiceless | |
| 2016 | Academy Award | Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject | A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness |
| 2017 | Emmy Awards | Best Documentary | A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness |
| 2018 | Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award | Documentary journalism in advancing human rights | |
| 2018 | Smith College Honorary Degree | World-class Storytelling Skills |
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