A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness (2015)

A woman in Pakistan sentenced to death for falling in love becomes a rare survivor of the country's harsh judicial system.

Director:

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Writer:

François-Xavier Durandy (French adaptation)

Stars:

Asad Jamal, Saba

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Asad Jamal	...	Lawyer
Saba	...	Herself

Storyline

The extraordinary story of a young Pakistani woman who lived to tell of her narrow escape from an attempted "honor" killing by her father and uncle. Told through the lens of a true love story, the film tells the story of Saba who was shot and left for dead after marrying a man once promised to her. The result is a scathing examination of the contradictions between modernism and tradition within Pakistani society.

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Plot Keywords:

title directed by female | pakistan | attempted filicide | criminal investigation | village | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Short

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA Pakistan

Language:

Punjabi

Release Date:

28 October 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Girl in the River: Der Preis der Vergebung

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Documentary Films, SOC Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

40 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the end of her acceptance speech, during the exit music, director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy announced that after viewing this film, the Prime Minister of Pakistan will change the law on honor killing.

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Connections

Featured in The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2016: Documentary (2016)

User Reviews

Well made but really depressing

This film is set in Pakistan and is about so-called 'honor killings'--when families murder their own daughters in order to save face with their neighbors. The particular subject of this film is a young lady named Saba. Saba married a man despite her family not giving her permission and her father and uncle dealt with it by shooting her and dumping her into the river. However, Saba's case is unusual because she actually survived the gunshot to her face and the film follows the case through the Pakistani court and to its ultimate resolution...or lack of resolution. The film is hellaciously depressing but fortunately the gunshot wound isn't as horrible to see post-surgically as you might imagine and Saba is rather inspiring because of her inner strength. It's also an amazing film because everyone talks so openly about what occurred and the father seems incredibly proud of his actions and by the end of the film he is elated that he maintained his sense of honor by trying to murder his daughter.

By the way, if you are curious, the filmmakers and folks they interviewed were careful to reiterate that these honor killings are not in any way approved of in the Koran but are more cultural than religious in nature.

UPDATE: This film did take the Oscar for Best Documentary Short.