Pakistan's Oscar winner pays tribute to Easter blast victims

Image
AFP Islamabad
Last Updated : Mar 29 2016 | 11:02 PM IST
Pakistan's first Academy award winner, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, has paid tribute to victims of the Easter bombing in the eastern city of Lahore with a short film posted to her Facebook page.
The 1.5-minute film titled "An Ode to Lahore, the Beautiful City" opens with a shot of the famous Badshahi mosque before showing images from the popular park where a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up in an attack targeting Christians on Easter Sunday.
At least 72 people died in the blast as families enjoyed the warm spring evening, many of them children. The bomber had walked close to a play area with swings before detonating.
Chinoy, a journalist, filmmaker and activist, has won two Academy Awards for the documentaries Saving Face (2012) and A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015).
Her video, posted yesterday, showed old images of the play area before Sunday's devastation, as well as footage from a candle-lit vigil that took place for the victims in Lahore.
"Lahore used to teach you to make bridges in order to reach each other," a female voiceover says in Urdu as the images flit by.
"We were liberal people, we were tolerant, we wanted to live with each other, we had the freedom to speak our minds."
The film then displays news footage from Sunday's carnage, with images of ambulances arriving at the blast site.
"We deprived our city of its personality," the voice says.
Children in school uniforms are shown playing in narrow streets as they smile, before the words of the country's founding father, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, appear: "There is no power on earth that can undo Pakistan".
Sunday's attack was the worst so far this year in a country grimly accustomed to atrocities, and will further undermine fractious inter-religious ties in the Muslim-majority nation.
In 2012, the Government of Pakistan awarded Chinoy the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian honour of the country.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Mar 29 2016 | 11:02 PM IST

Next Story