Female directors who revolutionised the industry

Female directors who revolutionised the industry

Synopsis

These veterans of cinema continue to bring powerful narratives and compelling stories to our screens!

Female directors who revolutionised the industry
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A good movie can entertain and educate the viewer in many ways. A good director will make sure their movie does not only do that but simultaneously make a mark in the cinematic industry. And in a society that is still in the midst of breaking its patriarchal tethers, some women in our media world have taken it upon themselves to not be deterred by societal obstacles as they raise standards of film in our nation, elevating the industry and setting high a bar across the board. These visionaries come under the many lists of people we need to openly celebrate and support as they continue to reach new heights in the Pakistani entertainment industry.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Internationally lauded and the recipient of two Academy Awards, seven Emmys, including a Knight International Journalism Award, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a powerhouse in the media industry. As a journalist, filmmaker and activist, her visual contributions to social activism are unparalleled, especially through her two internationally acclaimed documentaries, A Girl in the River and Saving Face. The former followed the stories of two women subjected to acid attacks and their struggle for justice and healing, and the latter shed light on the horrific reality of prevalent honour killings in Pakistan. Her efforts in bringing previously unheard voices to the limelight have garnered widespread admiration whereas her work has often been deemed critical in bringing change and acknowledgement to these disenfranchised communities.

She holds two masters and a production house that was involved in producing Pakistan’s first computer-animated feature film, 3 Bahadur. In recent news, Obaid has partnered with the Pakistan Cricket Board to release a documentary marking the 70 years of cricket in Pakistan, celebrating the inimitable passion this country has for the game. Obaid has successfully reached several feats in our nation’s male-dominated media industry amongst directors and continues to push boundaries with her work.

Chinoy is currently busy helming Ms. Marvel for Disney+, the first Hollywood series to feature a Muslim superhero played by Pakistani-American teenager Kamala Khan aka Ms Marvel. The series also features Fawad Khan, Nimra Bucha and Mehwish Hayat.

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Sultana Siddiqui

No less than a media mogul, Sultana Siqqiqui has attained remarkable feats in the entertainment industry. She was recently awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the president of Pakistan for her countless contributions to our country’s media landscape.

Siddiqui was also the face behind the Karachi Film Society (KFS), founded in 2017 as a nonprofit organisation that recognises and supports new filmmakers and is dedicated to promoting the love for film in our nation, all in all driving the Pakistani film industry in new and creative ways through various workshops, seminars, and establishing the Pakistan International Film Festival.

It was at her behest that one of Pakistan’s best drama serials came to our screens; Zindagi Gulzaar Hai, which has seen unmatched success and still holds up today as one of the most holistically directed and emotionally charged dramas that were viewed across the entire Indian subcontinent. Siddiqui’s commitment to promoting our media industry and taking it to new places is exactly what sets her apart as a pioneer!

Her expertise in the field won her several awards which include the Silver Jubilee Award (PTV), the HazratKhadijatul Kubra Award, Women of Vision Award, Nigar Award, Gold Medal, Sindh Graduates Association Award, Excellence Award and Pride of Performance Award in 2008 with countless other awards.

Mehreen Jabbar

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Almost all of us may have seen the film Dobara Phir Se, the highly acclaimed love story starring Sanam Saeed, Adeel Hussain and Hareem Farooq. But do we all know of the woman behind this project – Mehreen Jabbar, one of the most renowned directors in Pakistan with a longstanding prolific career in the industry through several short films, dramas and movies.

Her first feature film, Ramchand Pakistani, was inspired by true events about a boy who inadvertently crosses the Pakistan-India border which initiates a grievous onslaught of events for his family. The film went on to win the Fipresci Prize by the International Federation of Film Critics as well as several other accolades including Best Film at Pakistan Media Awards and Lux Style Awards.

While Dobara Phir Se was contextually a much lighter movie, it still pushed boundaries as it went on to showcase topics that are not openly discussed in Pakistani society; the plot focusing on a divorced woman living in New York as she attempts to reconcile with her mother and pursue love again, the latter being deemed quite taboo in a society where the title of divorce automatically makes one an outcast, even more so for a woman. In an age where women are consistently portrayed as meek characters in our media riddled with stereotypes, Jabbar negated such regressive conventionalities and portrayed a woman who stands strong in her opinions, successfully bringing together a much needed renewed narrative for the entertainment industry and setting quite a high bar!

 

Iram Parveen Bilal

Iram Parveen Bilal is a Pakistani-American filmmaker, activist and entrepreneur. The filmmaker has also been spotlighted as one of eight directors to watch by the Alliance of Women Directors. Her full feature release, Josh: Independence Through Unity, tackled several relevant issues in Pakistan including feudalism, poverty, and unequal women’s rights. The feature went on to win Best Screenplay and the Best Feature Film at the South Asian Film Festival 2014, whereas Bilal also received the Women in Film Finishing Grant. Not only this, but the project was Pakistan’s first film to be on Netflix and find a place in the permanent selection at the US Library of Congress.

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Apart from her directorial work, she heads Pakistan’s first professional script-writing lab and mentoring institute called Qalambaaz, which aims to nurture young artists and aspiring cinematographers, as part of her efforts in building a sustained cinematic industry in the region. Her latest film, I’ll Meet You There, based around a Muslim cop and his teenage daughter, was selected out of thousands of entries to compete in the South by Southwest Film festival 2020.

In recent news, the filmmaker has been awarded a grant by the CAA foundation that will support production on her next feature, Wakhri (One Of A Kind), which is mildly inspired by Qandeel Baloch and aims to depict the impacts of patriarchy and hyper-sexualisation in our restrictive culture. The film will revolve around the story of a female Pakistani social media star who vows to change the status quo by craftily using her celebrity for socioeconomic impact. Bilal continues to drive powerful narratives through her creative work and devotes considerable efforts to portraying stories that matter.

 

Momina Duraid

Literally, every other drama on our TV screens is attached to the name Momina Duraid. This woman has actively revolutionised the entertainment industry with her numerous works and accolades, pushing boundaries left and right. Apart from being an established Pakistani director and producer, she also heads her own production company known as MD productions.

Named amongst the 100 most influential women in 2015, her creative trajectory has seen many leading drama serials and a co-direction title for the film Bin Roye, the highly acclaimed romance/drama film that featured Mahira Khan and Humayun Saeed, which went on to nestle itself in the top five highest-grossing Pakistani films worldwide.

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Her involvement in mega-hit serials like Humsafar, Shehr-e-Zaat, Diyar-e-Dil, Mann Mayal, Udaari, Yaqeen Ka Safar, and Ehd-e-Wafa positions her as an immensely prominent and inspiring figure in the media industry, consistently driving highly emotive and much-needed inspiring narratives to our screens.

 

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