ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the emergence of activist documentary filmmaking practices in contemporary Pakistan is inspired by a crucial and decisive historical period in the country's development. From the very beginning a filmmaking institution, the Directorate General of Films and Publications (DFP), was already in place in 1947, with a mandate to produce and disseminate documentaries on important aspects of Pakistan's national life. Beginning with a background to the women's resistance movement and organizations that emerged in response to the promulgation of gender-discriminatory laws, this chapter focuses on representative films, filmmakers, and consequences of the imposition of Sharia laws during the Islamization period. Other state institutions involved in the production and dissemination of documentary films include federal ministries, the armed forces, state-sponsored educational institutions and cultural organizations, and the state-owned media organ, the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) that came into existence in 1964.
