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. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy More Quotes by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy More Quotes From Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from - if you put quality work out there, it will be appreciated. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy where-you-comework-outquality My advice to other female directors would be to pay no heed to naysayers. Women can be united in the fact that there has always been someone in our lives who has told us "it can't be done" or "there is only so much you can do." We are constantly encouraged to think that being born a woman means we were born with limited choices and compromised dreams. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy dreammeanthinking What good is my parents' wealth and education and upbringing if I'm not contributing to the world? Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy wealthparentworld Don't give up your dreams. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy dont-give-upgiving-updream Education liberates a woman. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy By bringing the voices of the ordinary people faced with extraordinary challenges to television screens around the world, I hope to affect change in one community at a time. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy voicecommunitypeople 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. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy specialchallengesstories I want people to leave the theater with a greater understanding of the rich cultural heritage of Pakistan. "Song of Lahore" moves beyond headlines and stereotypes and shows that a vast majority of Pakistanis are not perpetrators of religious violence - they are victims of it. The beautiful cultural heritage of the region belies its image in the West as monolithically religious, intolerant, and violent. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy religioussongbeautiful 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. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy documentariesfilmfields My films are motivated by a keen interest in highlighting issues that affect marginalized populations who are caught in difficult circumstances. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy populationissuesfilm The young boys I speak with say to me: Why would I want to live in this world - where they rely on charity, dry pieces of bread and water, where they are subjected to harsh treatment, when they can be free and be the envy of their colleagues in the afterlife. They are only too eager to sign on the dotted line and join the ranks of the Taliban. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy afterlifeenvyboys I feel that for the first time in a long time, educated Pakistanis are returning to their country to start up educational projects, to start up businesses, so instead of the brain-drain that happened in the 1950s and 1960s, the country is growing and improving economically. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy educationallongcountry The Pakistani government and its allies must overhaul their policies in Pakistan. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy alliespakistangovernment By giving our audience intimate access to the lives of musicians, we hope to raise awareness of the region's beautiful cultural heritage and present a more nuanced portrait of its people. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy beautifulgivingpeople 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. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy sparksissuespeople As filmmakers, you're not working on just one project, you're producing something, directing something, shooting something, and so it becomes hard to do it by yourself. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy filmmakershootingprojects Music is a universal language. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy universal-languagemusic-islanguage When you play music, you don't need a language. Music is a language. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy languageplayneeds 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. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy musicallaworder Despite their rising international acclaim, Sachal Studios remains virtually unknown in Pakistan. The ensemble is faced with a daunting task: to reclaim and reinvigorate an art that has lost its space in Pakistan's narrowing cultural sphere. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy tasksspaceart
