This weekend Showcase airs the must see HBO documentary A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.
Extraordinary story of a young Pakistani woman who married against her family’s wishes, and narrowly escaped death after a subsequent attempted “honor” killing by her father and uncle.
Nominated for a 2016 Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short, this 40-minute documentary follows the story of Saba, a young woman from the Punjab region of Pakistan, who was shot and left for dead by her father and uncle after marrying Qaiser, a man once promised to her by her family. Told through the lens of a true love story, the film is a scathing examination of the contradictions between modernism and tradition within Pakistani society, as Saba struggles with pressures to “forgive” the relatives who tried to kill her – a pronouncement that would set them free. In this masterful work of high-risk journalistic storytelling, award winning film maker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy (Saving Face) uncovers the complex and violent forces faced by women in Pakistan, particularly as it relates to human rights and family honour.
A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness premieres Sunday 9:30pm on Showcase.
