How film transforms the way we see the world | Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

Translator: Ihsan Farah Reviewer: Emma Toft

I'm a storyteller,

Jeg er en historiefortæller,

but I'm also a troublemaker.

men jeg er også en ballademager

(Laughter)

(latter)

And I have a habit of asking difficult questions.

min vane, er at stille mærkelige spørgsmål

It started when I was 10 years old,

det startede da jeg var 10 år gammel

and my mother, who was raising six children, had no time for them.

og min mor, der opfostrede seks børn, havde ingen tid til dem

At 14, fed up with my increasingly annoying questions,

som 14-årig, blev hun træt af mine mange irriterende spørgsmål

she recommended that I begin writing for the local English-language newspaper

og hun foreslog, at jeg blev skribent for den engelske lokal avis

in Pakistan,

i Pakistan,

to put my questions out to the entire country, she said.

for at stille mine mange spørgsmål, til resten af verden, sagde hun

(Laughter)

(latter)

At 17, I was an undercover investigative journalist.

Som 17-årig var jeg en undercover-efterforskningsjournalist

I don't even think my editor knew just how young I was

Jeg tror ikke engang min redaktør vidste hvor ung jeg var

when I sent in a story that named and shamed

da jeg indsendte en historie, der navngav og vanærede

some very powerful people.

nogle mægtige mennesker.

The men I'd written about wanted to teach me a lesson.

De mænd jeg skrev om, ville lære mig en lektie

They wanted to shame me and my family.

De ville vanære mig og min familie

They spray-painted my name and my family's name

De spray-malede, mit og min families navn

with unspeakable profanities across our front gate

med usigelige bandeord på tværs af vores frontport

and around our neighborhood.

og rundt omkring vores nabolag.

And they felt that my father, who was a strict man of tradition,

Og de troede min far, der var en hård mand af traditon,

would stop me.

ville stoppe mig.

Instead, my father stood in front of me and said,

Istedet, stod min far foran mig og sagde:

"If you speak the truth, I will stand with you,

"Hvis du taler sandheden, vil jeg stå ved din side

and so will the world."

og det vil verden også"

And then he got --

Også hentede han --

(Applause)

(Bifald)

And then he got a group of people together and they whitewashed the walls.

Også hentede han en gruppe mennesker, og de vaskede væggene.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

I've always wanted my stories to jolt people,

Jeg har altid ønsket mine historier at rykke folk,

to shake them into having difficult conversations.

til at ryste dem til at have svære samtaler

And I felt that I would be more effective if I did something visual.

Jeg tænkte jeg ville være mere effektiv, hvis jeg gjorde noget visuelt.

And so at 21, I became a documentary filmmaker,

Og som 21-årig, blev jeg en dokumentarfilmskaber

turning my camera onto marginalized communities

som drejede sit kamera på marginaliserede samfund

on the front lines in war zones,

på frontlinjen i krigszoner

eventually returning home to Pakistan,

dernæst vendte jeg hjem til Pakistan

where I wanted to document violence against women.

hvor jeg ville dokumentere vold mod kvinder.

Pakistan is home to 200 million people.

Pakistan er hjem til 200 mio. mennesker.

And with its low levels of literacy,

Og med dets lave læseevne

film can change the way people perceive issues.

kan film ændre måden folk opfatter problemer.

An effective storyteller speaks to our emotions,

En effektiv historiefortæller, taler til vores følelser,

elicits empathy and compassion,

fremkalder empati og medfølelse

and forces us to look at things differently.

og tvinger os til at se på tingene anderledes.

In my country, film had the potential to go beyond cinema.

I mit hjemland, havde film potentialet til at gå udover biografen.

It could change lives.

Den kunne ændre liv.

The issues that I've always wanted to raise --

De problemer jeg altid ville hæve --

I've always wanted to hold up a mirror to society --

Som jeg altid ville holde et spejl foran, til samfundet --

they've been driven by my barometer of anger.

Har været drevet af mit barometer af vrede

And my barometer of anger led me, in 2014, to honor killings.

Og mit barometer af vrede ledte mig, i 2014, til æredrab

Honor killings take place in many parts of the world,

Æredrab finder sted mange steder i verden,

where men punish women who transgress rules made by them:

hvor mænd straffer kvinder, der bryder love lavet af dem:

women who choose to marry on their own free will;

kvinder der vælger, at giftes af deres egen frie vilje;

or women who are looking for a divorce;

eller kvinder der gerne vil skilles;

or women who are suspected of having illicit relationships.

eller kvinder, der mistænkes for at have ulovlige forhold.

In the rest of the world, honor killings would be known as murder.

Hos resten af verden, vil æredrab være kendt som mord.

I always wanted to tell that story from the perspective of a survivor.

Jeg ville altid fortælle den historie, fra en overlevers af perspektiv.

But women do not live to tell their tale

Men kvinder lever ikke til at fortælle deres historie,

and instead end up in unmarked graves.

og istedet ender de i umærkede grave

So one morning when I was reading the newspaper,

Så, en dag, læste jeg avisen,

and I read that a young woman had miraculously survived

og jeg læste, at en ung kvinde havde mirakuløst overlevet

after being shot in the face by her father and her uncle

efter at have været skudt i ansigtet af hendes far og hendes onkel

because she chose to marry a man out of her free will,

fordi hun valgte, at giftes med en mand af hendes egen frie vilje

I knew I had found my storyteller.

Jeg vidste, at jeg havde fundet min historiefortæller.

Saba was determined to send her father and her uncle to jail,

Saba var fast besluttet på at sende hendes far og hendes onkel i fængsel,

but in the days after leaving the hospital,

men dagene efter, hun forlod hospitalet

pressure mounted on her to forgive.

lå presset på hende om, at tilgive

You see, there was a loophole in the law

Ser du, der var et smuthul i loven,

that allowed for victims to forgive perpetrators,

der tillod ofre at tilgive deres gerningsmand

enabling them to avoid jail time.

så de kunne undgå fængselstid

And she was told that she would be ostracized

Og hun fik at vide at hun ville blive udryddet

and her family, her in-laws,

og hendes familie, hendes svigerforældre

they would all be shunned from the community,

de ville alle blive afskåret fra samfundet,

because many felt that her father had been well within his right,

fordi mange følte, at hendes far havde været godt inden for hans ret,

given her transgression.

givet hendes overtrædelse.

She fought on --

Hun kæmpede,

for months.

i måneder.

But on the final day in court,

Men på den sidste dag i retten,

she gave a statement forgiving them.

hun afgav en erklæring om at tilgive dem.

As filmmakers, we were devastated,

Som filmskabere, var vi knust,

because this was not the film that we had set out to make.

fordi det var ikke filmen som vi havde tænkt os at lave.

In hindsight, had she pressed charges, fought the case and won,

I bagspejlet, havde hun lagt sag an, kæmpede for sagen og vundet,

hers would have been an exception.

ville hendes være en undtagelse.

When such a strong woman is silenced,

Når sådan en stærk kvinde tysses,

what chance did other women have?

hvilken chance har andre kvinder så?

And we began to think about using our film

Og vi begyndte, at tænke over at bruge vores film

to change the way people perceived honor killings,

til at ændre på hvordan folk opfatter æredrab.

to impact the loophole in the law.

til at gøre en forskel på det smuthul i loven.

And then our film was nominated for an Academy Award,

Dernæst blev vores film nomineret til en Oscar-pris,

and honor killings became headline news,

og æredrab blev overskriftsnyheder

and the prime minister, while sending his congratulations,

og premierministeren, mens han sendte sine lykønskninger,

offered to host the first screening of the film at his office.

tilbød at være vært for den første visning af filmen, på hans kontor.

Of course, we jumped at the chance,

Selvfølgelig tog vi chancen,

because no prime minister in the history of the country had ever done so.

fordi ingen premierminister havde aldrig i landets historie, gjort således.

And at the screening,

Og til visningen,

which was carried live on national television,

som var sendt live på nationalt tv,

he said something that reverberated throughout the country:

han sagde noget, der genlydte i hele landet:

"There is no honor in honor killings," he said.

"Der er ingen ære i æredrab," sagde han.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

At the Academy Awards in LA,

Til pris-uddelingen i LA,

many of the pundits had written us off,

havde mange af underværkerne afskrevet os,

but we felt that in order for the legislative push to continue,

men vi følte at for at lovgivningen kunne fortsætte,

we needed that win.

så skulle vi vinde.

And then, my name was announced,

Også blev mit navn annonceret,

and I bounded up the steps in flip-flops, because I didn't expect to be onstage.

og jeg løb op ad trapperne i klip-klapper, da jeg ikke forventede at være på scenen.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And I accepted the statue, telling a billion people watching

Og jeg accepterede prisen, og jeg fortalte en milliard mennesker, der så med,

that the prime minister of Pakistan had pledged to change the law,

at premierminsteren af Pakistan havde lovet at ændre loven,

because, of course, that's one way of holding the prime minister accountable.

fordi, det er jo en måde, at stille premierministeren til ansvar.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

And --

Og--

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Back home, the Oscar win dominated headline news,

Tilbage, derhjemme, dominerede Oscar-prisen overskriftsnyhederne.

and more people joined the fray,

og flere mennesker tiltrådte striden,

asking for the loophole in the law to be closed.

mens, de bedte om at få lukket det smuthul i loven.

Og i oktober 2016, efter måneder af kampagner,

And then in October 2016, after months of campaigning,

the loophole was indeed closed.

blev smuthullet endelig lukket.

(Bifald)

(Applause)

And now men who kill women in the name of honor

Og nu, mænd der dræber kvinder ved æredrab

receive life imprisonment.

får livstid i fængsel.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Yet, the very next day,

Alligevel, den næste dag,

a woman was killed in the name of honor,

blev en kvinde dræbt i æredrabens navn,

and then another and another.

også en anden kvinde, og en tredje.

We had impacted legislation,

Vi havde påvirket en lovændring,

but that wasn't enough.

men det var ikke nok.

We needed to take the film and its message to the heartland,

Vi blev nødt til, at tage vores film og dets budskab til hjertet,

to small towns and villages across the country.

til små byer og landsbyer på tværs af landet.

You see, for me, cinema can play a very positive role

Ser du, for mig, kan biograffilm spille en positiv rolle

in changing and molding society in a positive direction.

den kan ændre og støbe samfundet i den rigtige retning.

But how would we get to these places?

Men hvordan ville vi nå ud til disse steder?

How would we get to these small towns and villages?

Hvordan ville vi nå ud til de små byer og landsbyer?

We built a mobile cinema,

Vi byggede en mobilbiograf

a truck that would roll through the length and breadth of the country,

en lastbil, der ville rulle igennem landets længde og bredde,

that would stop in small towns and villages.

den ville stoppe i små byer og landsbyer.

We outfitted it with a large screen that would light up the night sky,

Vi udstyrede det med en stor skærm der ville lyse op for nattehimmelen,

and we called it "Look But With Love."

og vi kaldte den "Se, Men Med Kærlighed"

It would give the community an opportunity to come together

Det ville give samfundet en mulighed for at komme sammen

and watch films in the evening.

og se film om aftenen.

We knew we could attract men and children in the mobile cinema.

Vi vidste vi kunne tiltrække mænd og børn i den mobilebiograf.

They would come out and watch.

De ville komme ud og se på.

But what about women?

Men hvad med kvinderne?

In these small, rural communities that are segregated,

I disse små landdistrikter der er adskilt,

how would we get women to come out?

hvordan ville kvinderne komme ud?

We had to work with prevailing cultural norms in order to do so,

Vi var nødt til at arbejde med herskende kulturelle normer for at gøre det,

and so we built a cinema inside the cinema,

så vi byggede en biograf, inden i biografen,

outfitting it with seats and a screen where women could go inside and watch

vi monterede det med sæder og en skærm hvor kvinder kunne gå ind og se på

without fearing

uden at frygte

eller blive pinligt berørte

or being embarrassed

or harassment.

eller blive chikanerede.

Vi begyndte med at introducere alle

We began to introduce everyone

to films that opened up their minds to competing worldviews,

til film, der åbnede deres sind til konkurrerende verdensbilleder,

encouraging children to build critical thinking

der opmuntrede børn til at skabe kritisk tænkning

so that they could ask questions.

så de kunne stille spørgsmål.

And we expanded our scope beyond honor killings,

Og vi udvidede vores rækkevidde ud over æresdrab,

talking about income inequality,

vi talte om inkomstulighed,

the environment,

miljøet,

talking about ethnic relations, religious tolerance and compassion.

vi talte om etniske forhold, religiøs tolerance og medfølelse.

And inside, for women,

Og indenfor, for kvinder,

we showed them films in which they were heroes, not victims,

viste vi film, hvor de var helte og ikke ofre,

and we told them how they could navigate the court system, the police system,

og vi fortalte dem hvordan de kunne navigere rets- og politisystemet

educating them about their rights,

uddannede dem om deres rettigheder,

telling them where they could seek refuge

fortalte dem, hvor de kunne søge tilflugt,

if they were victims of domestic violence,

hvis de var ofre af vold i hjemmet,

where they could go and get help.

hvor de kunne søge hjælp.

We were surprised that we were welcomed in so many of the places

Vi var overraskede over, at vi var velkomne i mange af de steder

that we went to.

vi tog hen.

Many of the towns had never seen television or social media,

Mange af byerne havde aldrig set et fjernsyn eller sociale medier,

and they were eager for their children to learn.

og de var ivrige for, at deres børn skulle lære.

Men der var også tilbagefald og tilbagesæt

But there was also pushback and blowback

with the ideas that we were bringing with us.

på de idéer, som vi tog med os.

Two members of our mobile cinema team resigned

To medlemmer fra vores mobilebiograf, sagde op

because of threats from villages.

pga. trusler fra landsbyerne.

And in one of the villages that we were screening in,

Og i et af landsbyerne, som vi havde visninger i,

they shut it down

afbrød de den

og sagde de ikke gad at kvinderne lærte om deres rettigheder.

and said they didn't want the women to know about their rights.

Men på den anden side, i en anden landsby, hvis visning blev afbrudt,

But on the flip side, in another village when a screening was shut down,

a plainclothes policeman got up and ordered it back on,

ville en civil-politimand rejse sig og beordre, at den blev genafspillet,

og stod ved vores side, og beskyttede holdet,

and stood by, protecting our team,

og fortalte alle, at det var hans pligt at udsætte de unge sind

telling everyone that it was his duty to expose the young minds

til et alternativ verdensbillede og til det her indhold.

to an alternative worldview and to this content.

He was an ordinary hero.

Han var en almindelig helt.

But we've come across so many of these heroes on our journey.

Men vi har set så mange helte, igennem vores rejse.

In another town, where the men said that only they could watch

I en anden by, hvor mændene sagde, at kun de måtte se,

and the women had to stay home,

og at kvinderne skulle blive hjemme,

a community elder got up,

rejste en ældre borger sig,

got a group of people together, had a discussion,

samlede en gruppe mennesker og havde en diskussion,

and then both men and women sat down to watch together.

og både mænd og kvinder, sad nu ned sammen og så filmen.

We are documenting what we are doing.

Vi dokumenterer hvad vi laver.

We talk to people.

Vi taler med folk.

Vi tilpasser os.

We adapt.

We change the lineup of films.

Vi ændrer sortimentet af filmene.

When we show men films

Når vi viser mænd film

that show perpetrators of violence behind bars,

der viser at gerningsmændene af vold er bag tremmer,

we want to hit home the fact that if men are violent,

så vil vi ramme dem med, at hvis mænd er voldelige,

there will be repercussions.

så vil der være følgevirkninger.

But we also show films where men are seen as championing women,

Men vi viser også film, hvor mænd er set som forkæmpere for kvinder,

because we want to encourage them to take on those roles.

fordi vi vil opmuntre dem til at tage de roller til sig.

For women, when we show them films in which they are heads of state

For kvinder, viser vi dem film hvor de er statschefer

or where they are lawyers and doctors and in leadership positions,

eller hvor de er advokater og læger og i lederskabsroller

we talk to them and encourage them to step into those roles.

vi taler med dem og opmuntrer dem, til at sætte sig i de roller.

We are changing the way people in these villages interact,

Vi ændrer måden, folk i landsbyen interagerer med hinanden,

and we're taking our learnings into other places.

og vi tager vores erfaringer til andre steder.

Recently, a group contacted us and wants to take our mobile cinema

For nyligt kontaktede en gruppe os og ville tage vores mobilebiografer

to Bangladesh and Syria,

til Bangladesh og Syrien,

and we're sharing our learnings with them.

og vi deler vores erfaringer med dem.

We feel it's really important

Vi føler, at det er meget vigtigt

at tage hvad vi laver og dele det med hele verden.

to take what we are doing and spread it across the world.

In small towns and villages across Pakistan,

I små byer og landsbyer rundt omkring Pakistan,

ændrer mænd hvordan de interagerer med kvinder,

men are changing the way they interact with women,

children are changing the way they see the world,

børn ændrer hvordan de ser verden på,

one village at a time, through cinema.

en landsby af gangen, igennem en biograf.

Thank you.

Tak.

(Bifald)

(Applause)