or


[02/13/12 - 08:30 AM]
Oscar-Nominated HBO Documentary "Saving Face" Debuts March 8
Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy are behind the project, which is up for the Best Documentary Short Oscar.

[via press release from HBO]

OSCAR(R)-NOMINATED DOCUMENTARY SAVING FACE, SPOTLIGHTING BRAVE PAKISTANI SURVIVORS OF ACID ATTACKS AND THE DETERMINED DOCTOR WHO RETURNS TO HIS HOMELAND TO HELP THEM, DEBUTS MARCH 8, EXCLUSIVELY ON HBO

Every year in Pakistan, many people - the majority of them women - are known to be victimized by brutal acid attacks, while numerous other cases go unreported. With little or no access to reconstructive surgery, survivors are physically and emotionally scarred, and many reported assailants, typically a husband or someone else close to the victim, are let go with minimal punishment from the state.

Recently nominated for a Best Documentary Short Oscar(R), SAVING FACE chronicles the arduous attempts of acid-attack survivors Zakia and Rukhsana to bring their assailants to justice, and follows the charitable work of Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a plastic surgeon who strives to help them go beyond this horrific act and move on with their lives.

Directed by Oscar(R) and Emmy(R) nominee Daniel Junge and Emmy(R)-winning Pakistani director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, SAVING FACE debuts THURSDAY, MARCH 8 (8:30-9:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: March 8 (5:30 a.m.), 11 (8:45 a.m.), 14 (5:15 p.m.), 17 (1:45 p.m. ET only, 2:15 p.m. PT only, 5:40 a.m.), 20 (6:15 a.m., 11:50 p.m.) and 23 (1:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: March 24 (8:15 a.m.) and 28 (8:00 p.m., 2:40 a.m.)

Debuting during International Women's Month, SAVING FACE highlights the increasingly common practice of acid violence in Southeast Asia. Throwing acid onto faces and bodies is a form of domestic violence often used as revenge for refusal of sexual advances or proposals of marriage.

An intimate look inside Pakistani society, the film tells the stories of two courageous women: 39-year-old Zakia, whose husband threw acid on her after she filed for divorce, and Rukhsana, a 25-year-old whose husband and in-laws threw acid and gasoline on her, then set her on fire. With help from The Acid Survivors Foundation in Islamabad, as well as skilled doctors and sympathetic policymakers, they try to move forward with their lives, despite trauma and enduring pain. SAVING FACE also spotlights London-based, Pakistani-born plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad, who puts his successful practice on hold and returns to his home country to volunteer his skills and assist Zakia, Rukhsana and other victims of what he calls his society's "disease."

The documentary also follows the push to enact new legislation that imposes stricter sentencing of perpetrators of acid attacks. Zakia's husband is convicted of the assault and given two life sentences, becoming the first person to be sentenced under Pakistan's stronger new law. Dr. Jawad helps reconstruct her deformed face, and with a prosthesis covering half of it, she finally feels comfortable walking through the streets of Pakistan without wearing a burka.

Rukhsana, however, still lives with her husband and his family, who attacked her, because she is unable to support her children on her own. Before Dr. Jawad can operate on her face, Rukhsana learns that she is pregnant, delaying the surgery. In a heartbreaking moment, Rukhsana confides that she hopes her child will be a boy "because a girl's future gets risky after marriage."

Rukhsana does give birth to a boy, who brings happiness and purpose back to her life, and Dr. Jawad plans to operate on her in the future. But for each woman who is able to have facial reconstruction surgery, or finds solace in a loving family or in communities of survivors, there are myriads whose voices are never heard, described by Rukhsana as "the living dead."

Implores Rukhsana, "My fellow countrymen, my lawmakers, my government - your daughters seek justice from you."

Daniel Junge's credits include "Chiefs" (Best Documentary, 2002 Tribeca Film Festival) and the HBO documentaries "They Killed Sister Dorothy" (Emmy(R) nominee) and "The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner" (Oscar(R) nominee). Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy was the first Pakistani woman to win an Emmy(R), for "Pakistan's Taliban Generation," and was also a recipient of the Alfred I. duPont Award and the Overseas Press Club Award.

SAVING FACE is directed by Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy; produced by Davis Coombe, Daniel Junge, Alison Greenberg, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Sabiha Sumar; edited by Davis Coombe and Hemal Trivedi; original music by Gunnard Doboze; featuring original vocals by Kiran Ahluwalia. For HBO: senior producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.





  [february 2012]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
   


· SHOWATCH
(series past and present)
· DEVWATCH
(series in development)
· MOVIEWATCH
(tv movies and mini-series)





[10/03/25 - 02:17 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting '25 MLB Wild Card Series
Across eight games, the MLB Wild Card Series is averaging 4.4 million viewers, up 65% from last year.

[10/03/25 - 12:37 PM]
BET+ Sets October 23 Premiere for "Carl Weber's The Family Business" Season 6
The 10-episode season will premiere with two episodes, followed by one episode weekly, with the finale on Thursday, December 18.

[10/03/25 - 12:07 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Continues to Shatter Records - Growing Two Weeks in a Row Since Season Premiere for First Time Since 2005
Plus: "High Potential" hit a season high in Total Viewers (4.24 million), growing by double digits over the show's comparable third episode from last fall.

[10/03/25 - 10:57 AM]
Legends, Champions and Icons of October Highlight FOX Sports' Postseason Broadcaster Lineup
FOX Sports begins its Postseason coverage Saturday, October 4 at 4:00 PM ET on FOX, FOX Deportes, the FOX Sports App and FOX One as the New York Yankees face the Toronto Blue Jays.

[10/03/25 - 10:05 AM]
All-New Season of "Gold Rush" Returns with High-Stake Risks and Land Fury on Friday, November 7 at 8PM ET/PT on Discovery
With only a few short months to mine, top bosses and rising underdogs collide in a race to claim new ground, move more dirt, and strike it rich.

[10/03/25 - 09:12 AM]
FOX Nation Secures Exclusive U.S. Rights to Docuseries "Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar"
The acclaimed series will make its anticipated U.S. debut on FOX Nation on Monday, October 6.

[10/03/25 - 08:02 AM]
TNT Sports to Be Exclusive Home of 2025 NLDS & NLCS
Both best-of-five NLDS series begin Saturday, October 4.

[10/03/25 - 08:01 AM]
TNT Sports Sets BIG EAST Men's College Basketball Schedule for Inaugural 2025-26 Season
TNT Sports' regular season BIG EAST men's basketball schedule will feature 40 appearances by St. John's, UConn, Creighton, Xavier, and Marquette, programs that each clinched berths in last season's NCAA Men's Tournament.

[10/03/25 - 07:01 AM]
Video: "27 Nights" - Official Trailer - Netflix
When a woman is admitted by her daughters to a psychiatric clinic for her carefree ways, an expert must judge if she is ill or simply wants to enjoy life.

[10/03/25 - 04:01 AM]
Video: "Steve" - Official Trailer #2 - Netflix
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.

[10/03/25 - 03:02 AM]
Miguel Herran Will Play Poli Diaz in "El Porto the Vallecas," the New Film by Daniel Calparsoro for Netflix
Inspired by true events, the film follows the life of Policarpo "Poli" Díaz (Miguel Herrán), a young man from Vallecas who, despite a childhood marked by poverty and family violence, became a boxing legend in 1980s Spain, even fighting for the world lightweight title.

[10/03/25 - 03:01 AM]
Netflix Honors Jane Goodall with Posthumous Release of "Famous Last Words" Docuseries Following Her Passing
The series showcases reflective interviews with some of the world's most influential cultural figures, who agreed to sit down and discuss their legacy, and give their final words, with the understanding that it would only be shared with the world after they passed.

[10/02/25 - 04:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers the Most-Watched WNBA Semifinals Ever
Game 5 between the Indiana Fever and the Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.8 million viewers, peaking at 2.1 million.

[10/02/25 - 03:01 PM]
Video: "Twisted Wonderland" - Trailer - Disney+
Your favorite villains reimagined in ways you've never dared to dream.

[10/02/25 - 02:51 PM]
ESPN's Record-Setting Day One of MLB Wild Card Series
Coverage of Red Sox versus Yankees averaged 6.5 million viewers, peaking at 9.9 million.