Films: Saving Face

Saving Face

USA, 2012, 40 Minute Running Time
Additional Countries: Pakistan
Genre/Subjects: Documentary, Social Issues
Program: Documentary
Language: Urdu English Subtitles

DIRECTOR: Daniel Junge
Producer: Davis Coombe, Alison Greenberg, Daniel Junge, Sabiha Sumar
Editor: Davis Coombe, Hemal Trivedi
Cinematographer: Arron Kopp, Martina Radwan

Every year in Pakistan at least 100 people are attacked with acid—the vast majority of them women. This Oscar-winning documentary is the story of two survivors of such attacks, their battle for recognition, and their journey of healing. Zakia is a 39-year-old whose husband threw acid on her after she filed for divorce. She vows to find justice and restore her face to some normality. Rukhsana, 23, was attacked by her husband and in-laws, and then forced to reconcile with them.


Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a plastic surgeon who earned prominence for restoring the face of British model Katie Piper after an acid attack, has left the comfort of his London practice to return to his native of Pakistan and help the victims of such attacks. Saving Face follows their personal stories and that of a nation as it attempts to tackle this vexing social problem. Directed by Daniel Junge of Denver and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy of Pakistan, Saving Face won the Academy Award for Best Short Documentary earlier this year.

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