By Uzma Ehtasham
KARACHI: Oscar-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy introduced a new cohort of Pakistan’s emerging women directors at a ceremony hosted by the British Deputy High Commission in Karachi, showcasing films she said reflected the power of women-led storytelling.
The event drew a wide diplomatic and cultural audience, including US consul general Charles Goodman, British deputy high commissioner Mark Bailey, and Japan’s consul general Hattori Masaru. Senior representatives from the British Council, including director Leila Jamil and country director James Hampson, as well as leading names from Pakistan’s film and fashion industries, also attended.
The ceremony marked the seventh edition of Story She-Tells, part of Obaid-Chinoy’s Patakha Pictures – the country’s largest film-making grant and mentorship programme for women. Eight early-career directors from Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Chitral and Quetta presented trailers of their upcoming films, developed over six months with support from international mentors.
Patakha Pictures, an initiative of SOC Films run in partnership with the British Council and the Scottish Documentary Institute, focuses on nurturing women filmmakers through funding and training. This year’s participants worked in pairs, developing films that explored themes including women’s resilience, cultural inheritance, performance, music, spirituality and identity.
The fellows were mentored by award-winning filmmaker and Scottish Documentary Institute co-founder Noe Mendelle, whose decades of experience shaped the programme. Obaid-Chinoy said each edition of Patakha Pictures reaffirmed “how powerful films can be when women are given the space, confidence and guidance to tell their own stories”.
The ceremony also drew prominent cultural figures, including film star Amna Ilyas and fashion icon Nabila, underscoring the growing recognition of women filmmakers in the country’s creative landscape.
