It won Best Documentary (Short Subject) at this year's Oscars and it's one of the highlights of the forthcoming Sheffield Docfest, but Saving Face may never be shown in its native Pakistan. The two women whose stories it tells are taking legal action to try and prevent it.
Zakia and Rukhsana were both victims of so-called honour attacks. Throwing acid at women's faces is increasingly common in Pakistan - there are believed to have been over 50 such attacks in the last year alone - and it is frequently carried out by jealous husbands. Saving Face follows the work of pioneering doctor Mohammad Jawad, who has worked to reconstruct the faces of victims. The problem is that victims are often subject to additional social stigma and sometimes still have to live with the people who attacked them. Add to this a general disapproval of women appearing in films and the victims are afraid they could be ostracised, making their lives still more difficult.
The legal case hinges on the women's claim that they were told the film would never be screened in Pakistan, something filmmakers Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Daniel Junge dispute. They have also denied promising money to the women.
Despite concerns for the safety of the women and their families, it is understood that the filmmakers want to press ahead with planned Pakistani screenings if the legal action does not prevent it. There is enormous interest in the film in Pakistan, which has never won an Oscar before, and it is hoped that it could prompt public debate about acid attacks, potentially leading to change.
