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

Translator: Maider Uranga Reviewer: Nerea García Garmendia

I'm a storyteller,

Narratzailea naiz

but I'm also a troublemaker.

eta gatazkatsua ere bai.

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

And I have a habit of asking difficult questions.

Eta ohitura dut galdera zailak planteatzea.

It started when I was 10 years old,

Hamar urterekin hasi nintzen,

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

amak, sei seme-alaba zituenez, ez zuelako denborarik erantzuteko.

At 14, fed up with my increasingly annoying questions,

14 urterekin, gero eta gogaikarriagoak ziren galderekin nazkatuta,

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

tokiko egunkari ingelesean idazten hastea aholkatu zidan Pakistanen,

in Pakistan,

herrialde osoari nire galderak planteatzeko, berak esan zidan.

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

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

At 17, I was an undercover investigative journalist.

17 urterekin, ezkutuko ikerketa-kazetaria nintzen.

Ez dut uste nire editoreak ni hain gaztea nintzela iradokitzen zuenik.

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

when I sent in a story that named and shamed

pertsona boteretsuei seinalatzen eta errua ematen zien

some very powerful people.

artikulu bat bidali nionean.

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

Gizonezko haiek ikasgai bat eman nahi izan zidaten.

They wanted to shame me and my family.

Haiek niri eta nire familiari lotsatuta sentiarazi nahi izan ziguten.

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

Nire izena eta abizena margotu zituzten

with unspeakable profanities across our front gate

profanitate inefableekin batera

gure ate nagusian eta auzo osoan zehar.

and around our neighborhood.

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

Eta uste zuten aitak, gizon zorrotza eta tradizionala denez,

would stop me.

geldiaraziko ninduela.

Horren ordez, aita nire aurrean jarri eta hauxe esan zidan:

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

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

"Egia esaten baduzu, ni zure alboan mantenduko naiz,

and so will the world."

eta mundua ere bai."

And then he got --

Eta orduan...

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

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

Eta orduan pertsona talde bat bildu eta paretak garbitu zituzten.

(Barreak)

(Laughter)

I've always wanted my stories to jolt people,

Beti nahi izan dut nire istoriek jendea hunkitzea,

to shake them into having difficult conversations.

elkarrizketa zailak izatera bultzatzea.

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

Eta pentsatu nuen askoz eraginkorragoa izango litzatekeela

zerbait bisuala egitea.

Beraz, 21 urterekin, dokumentalista bihurtu nintzen,

And so at 21, I became a documentary filmmaker,

turning my camera onto marginalized communities

nire kameraz baliatuta

gerra-guneen komunitate marjinaletan zentratu nintzen.

on the front lines in war zones,

eventually returning home to Pakistan,

Azkenean Pakistanera itzuli nintzen,

emakumeen aurkako indarkeria dokumentatu nahi nuelako.

where I wanted to document violence against women.

Pakistan is home to 200 million people.

Pakistanen 200 milioi pertsona bizi dira.

And with its low levels of literacy,

Eta dagoen alfabetatze-maila baxua kotuan hartuta,

film can change the way people perceive issues.

filmek zenbait arazo hautemateko modua alda dezakete.

An effective storyteller speaks to our emotions,

Narratzaile eraginkor batek gure emozioei hitz egiten die,

elicits empathy and compassion,

enpatia eta errukia eragiten ditu,

eta gauzak beste era batera ikustera behartzen gaitu.

and forces us to look at things differently.

Nire herrialdean filmek zinematik haratago joateko aukera zuten.

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

It could change lives.

Jendearen bizitza alda dezakete.

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

Beti hitz egin nahi izan dut hainbat arazoei buruz...

Beti izan dut gizartearen aurrean ispilu bat jartzeko nahia.

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

they've been driven by my barometer of anger.

Nire haserrearen barometroak bultzatuta.

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

Eta nire haserrearen barometroak, 2014an, ohorezko krimenetara gidatu ninduen.

Honor killings take place in many parts of the world,

Ohore-krimenak munduko toki askotan gertatzen dira,

where men punish women who transgress rules made by them:

emakumeak, gizonek sortutako arauak hausteagatik, zigortzen diren tokiak:

Beren borondatearen arabera ezkontzea erabakitzen duten emakumeak;

women who choose to marry on their own free will;

or women who are looking for a divorce;

edo dibortziatu nahi duten emakumeak;

or women who are suspected of having illicit relationships.

edo zilegiak ez diren maitasun-harremanak izatearen susmagarriak diren emakumeak.

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

Gainerako mundu osoan, ohorezko krimenak hilketatzat jotzen dira.

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

Betidanik kontatu nahi izan dut istorio hori,

bizirik irten den pertsona baten ikuspegitik.

But women do not live to tell their tale

Baina emakumeak ez dira beren historia kontatzeko bizi

and instead end up in unmarked graves.

eta, aldiz, hilobi anonimoetan bukatzen dute.

So one morning when I was reading the newspaper,

Beraz, goiz batean, egunkaria irakurtzen ari nintzenean,

and I read that a young woman had miraculously survived

emakume bat bizirik atera zela irakurri nuenean,

aitaren eta osabaren tiro bat jaso baitzuen aurpegian,

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

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

bere borondatez ezkontzea erabakitzean

I knew I had found my storyteller.

nire narratzailea aurkitu nuela jakin nuen.

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

Saba prest zegoen aita eta osaba kartzelara bidaltzeko,

but in the days after leaving the hospital,

Baina, ospitaletik irten ondoren,

pressure mounted on her to forgive.

presioaren ondorioz, barkatu egin zituen.

Lege-hutsune bat dago:

You see, there was a loophole in the law

biktimak erasotzaileak barkatuz gero,

that allowed for victims to forgive perpetrators,

erasotzaileek kartzela saihesten dute.

enabling them to avoid jail time.

And she was told that she would be ostracized

Eta, bere familia eta aita-amaginarrebekin batera,

and her family, her in-laws,

marjinatua izango zela esan zioten,

komunitatetik kanporatuak izango zirela,

they would all be shunned from the community,

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

askok bere aita arrazoia zuela uste baitzuten,

given her transgression.

bere urraketa kontuan hartuta.

She fought on --

Berak borrokatu zuen...

for months.

hilabetetan zehar.

But on the final day in court,

Epaiketaren azken egunean, ordea,

she gave a statement forgiving them.

barkatu egin zituen.

As filmmakers, we were devastated,

Dokumentalista gisa, suntsituta geratu ginen,

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

hau ez baitzen filmatu nahi genuen filma.

Etorkizunari begira, berak karguak aurkeztu, borrokatu eta garaitu izan balu,

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

hers would have been an exception.

bere kasua salbuespena izango litzateke.

When such a strong woman is silenced,

Hain emakume indartsu bat isildu denean,

what chance did other women have?

zer aukera dute besteek?

And we began to think about using our film

Eta pentsatzen hasi ginen gure filma

to change the way people perceived honor killings,

jendeak ohorezko krimenei buruz duen ikuspegia aldatzeko,

legean dagoen hutsuna eragiteko, erabiltzea.

to impact the loophole in the law.

And then our film was nominated for an Academy Award,

Gure filma Oscarretarako proposatu zuten,

and honor killings became headline news,

ohorezko krimenak egunkarietako tituloetan atera ziren,

and the prime minister, while sending his congratulations,

eta Lehen Ministroak, guri zorionak ematerakoan,

filma bere bulegoan estreinatzea eskaini zuen.

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

Jakina, guk aukera aprobetxatu genuen,

Of course, we jumped at the chance,

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

herrialdeko historian Lehen Ministro batek ere ez zuelako antzeko zerbait egin.

And at the screening,

Emanaldian,

which was carried live on national television,

telebista nazionalean zuzenean eman zena,

he said something that reverberated throughout the country:

herrialde osoan zehar eragin handia izan zuen esaldia erran zuen:

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

"Ohorezko hilketetan ez dago ohorerik."

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

At the Academy Awards in LA,

Los Angelesen, Oscar sarien banaketan,

many of the pundits had written us off,

nahiz eta aditu askok gu baliogabetu,

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

guk uste genuen irabazi behar genuela

we needed that win.

legea aldatu ahal izateko.

And then, my name was announced,

Orduan, nire izena esan zuten,

eta nik mailak txankletetan igo nituen, antzeztokira igotzea ez bainuen espero.

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

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

And I accepted the statue, telling a billion people watching

Eta estatuatxoa onartu nuen, Pakistango Lehen Ministroak

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

legea aldatzeko konpromisoa hartu zuela milaka milioi ikusleei kontatuz,

hori betetzera behartzeko modu bat baitzen, noski.

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

(Laughter)

(Barreak)

And --

(Txaloak)

(Applause)

Back home, the Oscar win dominated headline news,

Etxean, egunkari guztien titularrak Oscarrari buruzkoak ziren,

and more people joined the fray,

eta jende gehiago bat egin zuen gure auziarekin,

asking for the loophole in the law to be closed.

legeak duen hutsune hori indargabetzea eskatzeko.

And then in October 2016, after months of campaigning,

2016ko urrian, kanpaina amaitu eta gero,

the loophole was indeed closed.

lege-hutsunea indargabetu egin zen.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

And now men who kill women in the name of honor

Orain, ohorearen izenean emakumeak hiltzen dituzten gizonak

receive life imprisonment.

biziarteko kartzela-zigorrera kondenatuak dira.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)

Yet, the very next day,

Hala ere, hurrengo egunean,

emakume bat hil zuten ohorearen izenean,

a woman was killed in the name of honor,

and then another and another.

eta ondoren beste bat, eta beste bat.

We had impacted legislation,

Legeria aldatu egin genuen,

but that wasn't enough.

baina ez zen nahikoa.

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

Filma eta bere mezua bihotzera iristea lortu behar genuen,

to small towns and villages across the country.

herrialde osoko herri txiki eta herrixketara iristea.

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

Nik uste dut zinemak oso paper positiboa izan dezakeela

in changing and molding society in a positive direction.

gizartea aldatzeko eta moldatzeko norabide positibo batean.

But how would we get to these places?

Baina, nola iritsi gaitezke horretara?

How would we get to these small towns and villages?

Nola iritsi gaitezke herri txiki eta herrixketara?

We built a mobile cinema,

Guk zinema mugikor bat eraiki genuen,

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

herrialdea zeharkatu dezakeen kamioia,

that would stop in small towns and villages.

herri txiki eta herrixketan geldialdiak egiten dituena.

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

Gaueko zerua argiztatuko lukeen pantaila handi batekin hornitu genuen

and we called it "Look But With Love."

"Look But With Love" izenarekin ("Ikusi baino amodioz" euskaraz).

It would give the community an opportunity to come together

Kamioiak arratsaldean biltzeko

and watch films in the evening.

eta pelikulak ikusteko aukera emango dio komunitateari.

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

Bagenekien gizonei eta mutikoak zinema mugikorrera erakarriko genituela.

They would come out and watch.

Haiek ikusteko irtengo lirateke.

But what about women?

Baina, eta emakumeak?

In these small, rural communities that are segregated,

Komunitate txiki, landatareta bereizietan,

how would we get women to come out?

nola lortu emakumeak erakartzea?

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

Hori lortzeko kultura arauekin lan egin behar genuen.

and so we built a cinema inside the cinema,

Beraz, zinemaren barruan beste zinema bat eraiki genuen,

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

eserlekuekin eta pantaila batekin, horrela emakumeek filmak ikus ditzazkete,

without fearing

beldurra

or being embarrassed

edo lotsa

or harassment.

edo jazarpena sufritzeko beldurrik gabe.

We began to introduce everyone

Mundua begiratzeko ikuspegi desberdinak

to films that opened up their minds to competing worldviews,

erakutsi genizkien filmen bitartez,

encouraging children to build critical thinking

haurren pentsamendu kritikoa sustatuz,

galderak planteatu ditzazten.

so that they could ask questions.

And we expanded our scope beyond honor killings,

Ohorezko krimenez haratago hitzegitea erabaki genuen,

talking about income inequality,

diru-sarreren desberdintasuna,

ingurumena, harreman etnikoak,

the environment,

talking about ethnic relations, religious tolerance and compassion.

erlijio tolerantzia eta errukiari buruz hitzegiten.

Eta barruan, emakumeentzat, biktimak izan ordez,

And inside, for women,

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

emakumeak heroiatzat dituzten pelikulak proiektatzen genituen,

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

eta sistema judizialari eta poliziari buruz jarduten genuen,

educating them about their rights,

haien eskubideei buruzko informazioa emanez,

telling them where they could seek refuge

indarkeriaren biktimak baziren

if they were victims of domestic violence,

babeslekau nola bilatuk kontatzen genien,

where they could go and get help.

laguntza lortzeko nora jo zezaketen esanez.

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

Bisitatzen genituen leku askotan ongi etorriak ginela

ikusteak harritu egin gintuen.

that we went to.

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

Herrixka askok ez zuten inoiz telebista edo sare sozialik ikusi,

and they were eager for their children to learn.

eta beren seme-alabek haiei buruz ikastea nahi zuten.

But there was also pushback and blowback

Baina oztopoak ere aurkitu genituen

with the ideas that we were bringing with us.

aurkezten genituen ideien ondorioz.

Two members of our mobile cinema team resigned

Gure taldeko bi kidek dimititu egin zuten

because of threats from villages.

euren herrixketatik jasotako mehatxuengatik.

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

Filmak proiektatu genituen herrixka batean geldiarazi egin gintuzten,

they shut it down

emakumeek beraien eskubideei buruz ikastea ez zutela nahi esanez.

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

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

Baina, beste herrixka batean, proiektatzea debekatu zigutenean,

a plainclothes policeman got up and ordered it back on,

herriko polizia bat altxatu zen eta berriro jartzeko agindua eman zuen,

eta gure alboan geratu zen, taldea babesten,

and stood by, protecting our team,

gazteei munduari buruzko beste ikuspegiak

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

to an alternative worldview and to this content.

erakustea bere beteharra zela guztiei esanez.

He was an ordinary hero.

Eguneroko heroia zen.

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

Baina gure bidaian zehar heroi asko aurkitu genituen.

Beste herrixka batean, gizonezkoek esan zuten

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

beraiek bakarrik ikus zezaketela filmak eta emakumeak etxean geratuko zirela,

and the women had to stay home,

a community elder got up,

agure bat altxatu zen,

jende talde bat bildu, eztabaidatu,

got a group of people together, had a discussion,

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

eta azkenean gizonezkoek eta emakumezkoek elkarrekin ikusi zuten filma.

We are documenting what we are doing.

Egiten ari garena dokumentatzen dugu.

We talk to people.

Jendearekin hitzegin.

We adapt.

Egokitu.

We change the lineup of films.

Filmen ordena aldatu.

When we show men films

Kartzelan dauden jende bortitza erakusten duten filmak gizonei erakustean,

that show perpetrators of violence behind bars,

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

gizonak bortitzak badira, ondorioak daudela argi geratzea nahi dugu.

there will be repercussions.

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

Baina gizonak emakumeak defendatzen agertzen diren pelikulak

ere erakusten ditugu,

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

rol hori betetzera animatu nahi ditugulako.

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

Emakumeentzat, estatuburuak edo abokatuak eta medikuak diren

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

edo bertan beraiek agintaritza postuak dituzten pelikulak jartzen ditugu,

haiekin hitz egiten dugu eta rol horiek betetzera animatzen ditugu.

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

We are changing the way people in these villages interact,

Herrixketako jendearen elkarreragiteko modua aldatzen ari gara,

and we're taking our learnings into other places.

eta gure joerak beste leku batzuetara eramaten ari ditugu.

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

Duela gutxi, talde batek gurekin harremanetan jarri zen

Bangladeshera eta Siriara gure zinema mugikorra eramateko

to Bangladesh and Syria,

and we're sharing our learnings with them.

eta haiekin ari gara gure joerak partekatzen.

We feel it's really important

Gure ustez mundu guztiarekin egiten ari garena

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

partekatzea ezinbestekoa da.

In small towns and villages across Pakistan,

Pakistan osoko herri txiki eta herrixketan, gizonek

emakumeak tratatzen dituzten modua aldatzen ari dira,

men are changing the way they interact with women,

haurrek mundua ikusten duten modua aldatzen ari dira,

children are changing the way they see the world,

one village at a time, through cinema.

herrixka-herrixka, zinemaren bidez.

Eskerrik asko.

Thank you.

(Applause)

(Txaloak)