Every year in Pakistan, at least 100 people are victimized by brutal acid attacks. The majority of these are women, and many MORE cases go unreported. With little or no access to reconstructive surgery, survivors are physically and emotionally scarred, while many reported assailants—typically a husband or someone close to the victim—are let go with minimal punishment from the state.
SAVING FACE tells the stories of two acid-attack survivors: Zakia and Rukhsana, their arduous attempts to bring their assailants to justice, and the charitable work of London-based, Pakistani-born plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad, who strives to help these women put this horrific act behind them and move on with their lives.
Directed by Oscar™ and Emmy™-nominated filmmaker Daniel Junge and Emmy™-winning Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, SAVING FACE is an intimate look inside Pakistani society, illuminating each women's personal journey while showing how reformers are tackling this vexing problem.
The 40 minute version is a 2012 Oscar™ winner in the category of Best Documentary Short.
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“It has the impact of an epic. Instead of giving us outraged speeches, it takes a realistic, level-headed view of the people involved... This heartbreaking film has relevance to the cruelties toward women that are sanctioned in many lands. There is no justification for such behavior...”—Roger Ebert
