wo-time Academy Award winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has joined Afia Nathaniel’s short film Don’t Be Late, Myra as an executive producer, strengthening the project’s campaign for the upcoming 98th Academy Awards. The film was recently declared eligible for Oscar consideration after completing its international festival circuit run.

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, known for her Academy Award-winning documentaries and for directing Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel, shared her response to the film on Instagram, “Watching Afia’s beautiful short film, I felt like I was walking the streets of Lahore with Myra. The last scene still stays with me, haunting, tender and unforgettable. I’m proud to be supporting this film and I hope everyone has the chance to experience it.”

Speaking to Variety, she said, “Myra’s story is both urgent and real. It gives voice to the fears every young girl knows too well while celebrating the courage it takes to survive and to be heard. To stand behind this film is not only a responsibility but a joy. I am proud to join as executive producer and to help bring this vital story to the world.”

Written and directed by Pakistani-American filmmaker Afia Nathaniel, Don’t Be Late, Myra follows 10-year-old Myra, played by Innayah Umer, as she walks through Lahore alone after missing her ride to school. What begins as a routine journey takes an alarming turn when Myra encounters a number of men who threaten her safety. The story highlights the everyday life of untold young girls in public spaces.

Nathaniel drew from her own experience as a survivor to address child abuse and harassment without compromise. The cast includes Nida Ahsan as Myra’s bedridden mother, Sumaira Saghir as her teacher, with actors Mushtaq Ahmed, Munir Hussain, Shahid Riaz, Rizwan Riaz and Sohail Tariq playing unscrupulous men along the way.

Don’t Be Late, Myra earned awards at several major festivals including the Bergen International Film Festival in New Jersey, the Montreal International Film Festival, the Big Apple Film Festival in New York, the UK Asian Film Festival and the Woodstock Film Festival. These wins led to its qualification for the Oscars.

The film also marks Afia Nathaniel’s return to Pakistani storytelling a decade after her debut feature Dukhtar, which represented Pakistan at the 2015 Academy Awards and was screened in more than 20 countries. Nathaniel later directed an episode of Chicago Med under NBC Universal’s Launch Female Forward initiative, becoming the first Pakistani-American woman to direct a network drama in the United States.