Journalist and documentarian
Born: 1978
Profession: Documentary filmmaker
Affiliation(s): New York Times Television, Faculty member at SZABIST- Karachi
Citizenship: Pakistani and Canadian
Profile Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy (born 1978), is an Emmy and Oscar award-winning Pakistani-Canadian journalist and documentary filmmaker. She won an Emmy for her documentary, Pakistan: Children of the Taliban in 2010. She is also the first non-American to win the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. On 26 February 2012 Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won an Oscar for her documentary film, Saving Face. She has been lauded as Pakistan's first Oscar winner by the press and government. Early Life Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was born in Karachi to Urdu speaking parents, Sheikh Obaid and Saba Obaid, and attended the Karachi Grammar School.Obaid-Chinoy graduated from Smith College with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Government and from Stanford University with a master's in International Policy Studies in 2003, and a master's in Communication in 2004. Career Obaid-Chinoy's career in documentary filmmaking began when she examined the plight of Afghan refugee children in Pakistan for an articles. Their situation was so dire, and their stories so compelling, that Obaid-Chinoy decided to return to Pakistan and create a film about them. She petitioned Smith College and New York Times Television production division for the grants that would allow her to accomplish her goals. Intrigued by her story, both organizations gave her the funds as well as production equipment and training. Obaid-Chinoy is currently a faculty member in the media sciences department at SZABIST (Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and technology, Karachi). Obaid-Chinoy is also on the board of The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP). Career as a Documentarian Known for documentaries dealing with life in the Muslim world, Obaid-Chinoy became the first non-American to win the Livingston Award. Her films have aired on such networks as Channel 4, CNN, PBS,HBO and Al-Jazeera. Obaid began her career with New York Times Television in 2002 where she produced Terror's Children, a film about Afghan refugee children, which won her the Overseas Press Club Award, the American Women and Radio and Television Award, and the South Asian Journalist Association Award. Since then, she has produced and reported on more than twelve films around the world. Obaid produced and reported on four multi-award winning documentary films for New York Times Television. In 2003, Reinventing the Taliban was awarded the Special Jury Award at the BANFF TV festival in Canada, the CINE Golden Eagle Award, the American Women in Radio and Television award, and the Livingston Award. In 2005, her film Women of the Holy Kingdom, which provided an inside look at the women's movement in Saudi Arabia, won the South Asian Journalist Association Award. In 2005, Obaid began working with Channel 4 in the United Kingdom reporting on four films for their Unreported World series. Pakistan's Double Game looked at sectarian violence in Pakistan, City of Guilt explored the Catholic Church's pro-life movement in the Philippines, The New Apartheid looked into growing xenophobia in South Africa, and Birth of a Nation delved into the politics of East Timor. In 2007, Obaid was named "journalist of the year" by the One World Media awards for her work in the series. In 2007, Obaid travelled to Afghanistan and reported for Channel 4 and CNN. Her film, Afghanistan Unveiled/Lifting the Veil, focuses on stalled reconstruction and the repression of women in the country. In 2010, she won an Emmy Award for her documentary, Pakistan: Children of the Taliban, which explores Taliban recruitment strategies, their effect on the youth and their methods to radicalize the country’s young and often dejected populace. Children of the Taliban premiered FiLums (2011) - the largest film festival in Pakistan held annually at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. On February 26, 2012, Obaid became the first Pakistani to win an Oscar for her documentary Saving Face, which chronicles the lives of acid attack survivors in Pakistan, and follows a British-Pakistani plastic surgeon Mr. Mohammad Ali Jawad, who performs reconstructive surgeries on them. The film has been co-directed by American filmmaker Daniel Junge. External links Website for Sharmeen Obaid Films Sharmeen Obaid Oscar Award Photos
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