Oscar Winner Has High Hopes for Pakistan's First Full-Length Animated Film

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Pakistani journalist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy won an Oscar in 2012 for her short subject documentary Saving Face, which tackles the subject of acid attacks on women. Chinoy made Time’s list of 100 most influential people in 2012 after taking home Pakistan’s first ever Academy Award. Now Chinoy has shifted toward a new medium, one that she hopes will have just as much of an effect as her successful documentary.

Chinoy’s newest project is entitled Three Braves (Teen Bahadur in Pakistan) and it’s a full-length animated film, another Pakistani first. Alia Waheed profiled Chinoy and the film earlier this week at The Guardian.

What’s the Big Idea?

Chinoy says the inspiration behind Three Braves was the dearth of Pakistani-produced content geared toward children. From The Guardian:

“All our content is imported, and thus our youth grow up with mentors and heroes who are far removed from what they see around them in real life. We brainstormed about a number of mediums, but kept returning to animation because of the imaginative freedom it offers.”

Three Braves tells the story of an 11-year-old girl named Amna who helps save her town from an evil villain. All dialogue is spoken in Urdu so that the children who see the film are better able to identify with the characters. The film will also feature subtle messages about growing up and self-empowerment during adolescence.

It will be exciting to see what the response the film gets when it reaches its audience this summer.