Free and open to the public
Join us for a screening and discussion about A Journey of A Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers by Academy and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and Stanford International Policy Studies program alumna Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
The film follows a unit of 160 women who, between June 2013 and July 2014, travel far from their homes in Bangladesh to join the United Nations Stabilizing Mission in Haiti. They form one of the world’s first all-female, predominantly Muslim peacekeeping units; shattering every stereotype the world holds about the capabilities of Muslim women.
A conversation with Jamie Meltzer, Associate Professor in Stanford's M.F.A. Program in Documentary Film and Video, will follow the screening.
Ms. Obaid-Chinoy has made over a dozen multi-award winning films in over 10 countries around the world. Most recently, she won an Academy Award in 2016 for Best Documentary Short for A Girl in the River, a film that examines the practice of "honour killings" in Pakistan. After watching the film, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vowed to change the law on honour killings.
Obaid-Chinoy's work centers on human rights and women’s issues. She has worked with refugees and marginalized communities from Saudi Arabia to Syria and from Timor Leste to the Philippines. By bringing their voices to the forefront, she has often helped them bring about a critical change in their community.
Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Obaid-Chinoy received her B.A. from Smith College, and two master's degrees from Stanford University: International Policy Studies ('03) and Communication ('04).
In 2012, Obaid-Chinoy set up an independent production house SOC FILMS in Karachi which specializes in producing investigative and socially motivated content. She also spearheads Pakistan’s first film animation production house Waadi Animations which produced Pakistan’s first feature length animated film 3 Bahadur.
Visit her website for more information.
Recent interviews:
- BBC News (February 2016)
- CNN's Fareed Zakara GPS (January 2016)
- CNN International with Chirstianne Amanpour (February 2016)
- Huffington Post (includes video of her Oscar acceptance speech)
- Oscars website (February 2016)
Recent Filmography:
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness Academy Award for Best Documentary Short (2016)
Song of Lahore (2015)
3 Bahadur (2015)
A Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers (2014)
Humaira: The Dream Catcher (2013)
Saving Face Academy Award for Best Documentary Emmy Award for Best Documentary; Emmy Award for Outstanding Editing: Documentary and Long Form (2012)
