ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an insider’s perspective on the motivation behind the Oscar-winning documentary, A Girl in the River, the off-camera interactions between the film crew and the documentary subjects, and the production process of the film itself. It sheds light on the difficulties expressed by the documentary characters and the hurdles faced by the documentary crew during the filmmaking process. Also under discussion is the film’s journey to the Academy Awards and how in the wake of the victory, the focus of the local media shifted from the campaign to improve legislation to a smear campaign catalysed by known public opinion makers. When this documentary following the life of a 19-year-old girl who survived an honour killing attempt won the Academy Award in the Documentary Short category in 2016, the reaction within Pakistan and in the outside world was poles apart. While the rest of the world received the film as a step in the right direction to pave the way for monumental changes in legislation regarding the abhorrent practice of honour killings, the reactions in Pakistan ranged from intense suspicion and attacks towards the filmmaker.
