Professional Role

Biography

Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy is an Academy Award and Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker. Her films include SAVING FACE, TRANSGENDERS: PAKISTAN’S OPEN SECRET AND PAKISTAN’S TALIBAN GENERATION, which aired on PBS, Channel 4, CBC, SBS and Arte and was the recipient of the Alfred I Dupont Award as well as The Association for International Broadcasting award. Sharmeen has made over a dozen-multi award winning films in over 10 countries around the world and is the first non-American to be awarded the Livingston Award for best international reporting. In 2007, Sharmeen helped found The Citizens Archive of Pakistan; a non-profit, volunteer organization formed to foster and promote community-wide interest in the culture and history of Pakistan. At a time when Pakistan’s youth finds itself caught between religious and state ideology, the organization works with thousands of underprivileged children inculcating critical thinking skills and instilling a sense of pride in them about their history and identity.

Fun facts

Favorite meal:
Macaroni and cheese

A funny story about me:
At the age of 22, I set out to shoot my first documentary, Terror's Children in Karachi. When I sent out my first set of footage (which I was very proud of) I received a curt email from New York: 'Sharmeen, the shots look beautiful, except there is no sound in any of it.' Needless to say, I had to start from scratch!