The award-winning filmmaker brings out a mini web series that pays tribute to the unsung heroes of Pakistan.
“Stories For Our Children focuses on humanity and how parents play a role in shaping their children’s outlook in life,” says Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy about her recent four-part web miniseries.
Always an inspiration, Oscar award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy never lags behind in highlighting important issues through her work. Her most recent effort in this direction is a collaboration with HBO Sports for an upcoming sports documentary called Student Athlete, that will talk about the complex rules of amateur athletics in America and will show how they affect uncompensated athletes and their families.
Meanwhile, her newest web miniseries, Stories For Our Children, that is based on four episodes, features animated stories about real heroes who stood up for diversity and inclusion.
Three out of four episodes have been released (while this piece is being written), with the latest one focusing on the remarkable efforts of Aitzaz Hasan, who stood up against intolerance and violence to protect those he cared for.
Instep got in touch with Sharmeen to find out about the series that is being released on YouTube and is shared online as well so that it reaches out to families inside and outside Pakistan.
“Stories For Our Children is our new YouTube series which we are taking into educational institutes and partnering with local organizations to get as many children as possible to watch these films,” she shared. “They will also be taken into small towns and villages across Pakistan on our mobile cinema. The series focuses on humanity and how parents play a role in shaping their children’s outlook in life.”
She also said that the films are not all based on heroes; they are based on places and stories around these heroes as well.
Reflecting on the first episode, that sheds light on the late Abdul Sattar Edhi’s massive contribution to humanity and what inspired him to take this path, the filmmaker added, “In the episode on Edhi, we show his relationship with his mother.” The film is inspired by the story of young Edhi and recounts the journey of how this extraordinary man became one of Pakistan’s greatest humanitarian figures.
The second episode of the series follows the inspiring story of Kulsoom Hazara, who was born in Quetta. She lost her parents at the age of seven and began to live with her brother-in-law Sarwar Ali, who trained her to become one of Pakistan’s leading Karate champions.
The final episode features the village of Khalsabad and shows how parents teach children to accept others who come from different faiths.
