Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy completes the latest edition of her female-centric filmmaking program, ‘Story She Tells’

Two-time Academy Award-winning director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy marked the completion of the seventh edition of History that tellsPakistan’s largest women-centric film grant and mentorship program. This year’s round brought together eight emerging filmmakers from Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Chitral and Quetta.

Running from Patakha Images, an initiative of SOC Filmsand with the support of the British Council and the Scottish Documentary Institute, the program hosted a gathering in Karachi where the friends premiered their film trailers, offering a first look at six months of work based on personal, social and cultural narratives.

For the 2025 edition, participants worked in pairs, producing films that explore resilience, cultural heritage, performance, music, spirituality and identity. The team was led by Noe Mendelle, founding director of the Scottish Documentary Institute, whose decades of documentary practice shaped the programme’s guidelines. The project concluded with an in-person editing and closing session.

Friends of 2025 and their movies

Mah Jabeen Abid and Maryam Misal (Multan) – Malangni
A portrait of a 44-year-old Serai theater act dealing with fading fame and the emotional toll of life on stage.

Syeda Abqra Shaukat and Faryal Diwan (Karachi) — Saaz, Dhee, Azaadi
The story of a woman torn between Karachi and Bhit Shah, fighting for the right to follow a musical tradition she was once denied.

Mahrosh Alam and Sana Hussain (Chitral/Lahore) — Mudazir
A look at Shudri Ji, a trans Nohachuan dancer and dancer whose inner conflicts and devotion reveal the unseen emotional burdens of bereavement.

Sumbul Khokhar and Fizza Kanwal (Ketta) — The female eagle of Balochistan
A profile of Hamida, an activist whose campaign against injustice has made her a symbol of resistance in her community.

Speaking at the event, Obaid-Chinoy highlighted the need for structured pathways for female filmmakers. “I am a product of Pakistan, but a yellow road of opportunity has taken me around the world and into rooms where women like me rarely go. Because doors opened for me, I believe in opening doors for other women,” she said.

She noted that Patakha images is helping to create the infrastructure that young female filmmakers often lack, adding that support from partners such as the British Council, USIP, USAID and private donors has widened access to emerging storytellers from both small towns and big cities.

According to Obaid-Chinoy, the program’s impact is becoming visible: “Our 69 filmmakers have screened at more than 50 festivals and won dozens of awards, proof that even small investments can create significant results.”

James Hampson, British Council Country Director for Pakistan, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting emerging storytellers and strengthening creative ecosystems for women.

Since its launch in 2022, Patakha Pictures has supported 69 filmmakers whose work has traveled to more than 70 festivals worldwide—including New York, Seoul, Montreal, Milan and Canberra—and won more than a dozen awards. This year’s group continues this trajectory, expanding the space for female-led storytelling in Pakistani documentary.