Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness

The 2016 Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Short, this documentary follows the story of Saba, a young woman from the Punjab region of Pakistan, who was shot and left for dead by her father and uncle after marrying Qaiser, a man once promised to her by her family. Told through the lens of a true love story, the film is a scathing examination of the contradictions between modernism and tradition within Pakistani society, as Saba struggles with pressures to "forgive" the relatives who tried to kill her -- a pronouncement that would set them free. In this masterful work of high-risk journalistic storytelling, award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Saving Face) uncovers the complex and violent forces faced by women in Pakistan, particularly as it relates to human rights and family honor.