KARACHI: Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy celebrated five years of Patakha Pictures, an initiative of SOC Films supporting emerging documentary filmmakers in Pakistan, at a special event in Karachi on October 19, 2026.
The celebration also introduced eight women filmmakers selected for the 2026 edition of Claim the Frame, a mentorship and funding programme organised in partnership with the British Council and the Scottish Documentary Institute.
Since its launch in 2022, Patakha Pictures has supported 76 emerging filmmakers whose documentaries have collectively received more than 22 awards and been screened at over 100 international film festivals.
The 2026 edition marks the eighth cycle of the programme and brings together eight women filmmakers from Punjab, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan, working in four creative pairs.
Their documentaries explore women challenging barriers in traditionally male-dominated fields, the relationship between climate change and child marriage, survival and artistic traditions in Cholistan, and the contributions of women healthcare workers in remote mountain communities.
Speaking at the event, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, founder of Patakha Pictures, highlighted the importance of providing emerging filmmakers with opportunities to develop their creative abilities.
“Five years of Patakha Pictures have reaffirmed a fundamental belief: talent is universal, but opportunity is not,” she said.
She credited the British Council Pakistan and the Scottish Documentary Institute for supporting filmmakers through funding, mentorship and creative freedom.
Obaid-Chinoy said the achievements of award-winning alumni and the newly selected Claim the Frame fellows demonstrated the importance of investing in emerging voices.
She also expressed her ambition to establish Patakha Pictures as a permanent platform where future generations of documentary storytellers could learn, collaborate and develop their work.
Over the past five years, Patakha Pictures has evolved from a filmmaking mentorship initiative into a growing community of storytellers representing different regions of Pakistan.
Through successive programme cycles, participants have received production funding, international mentorship, practical filmmaking assistance and opportunities to document stories rooted in their communities.
Eight women filmmakers selected for 2026 programme
The 2026 Claim the Frame programme features four filmmaking pairs, each developing a documentary focusing on a different social, cultural or environmental subject.
Ishma Areeb and Javaria Waseem, from Lahore, Punjab, are documenting the journey of Anum Shakoor, a woman who found strength and healing through horses before entering the predominantly male sport of tent pegging.
Aleezeh Fatima and Aisha Manzoor, from Karachi, Sindh, are producing a documentary set in rural Sindh examining the connections between climate change, poverty and child marriage.
Kinza Waqar Un Nisa Zainab and Jazaba Raheel, representing Bahawalpur and Lahore, are exploring life in the Cholistan Desert through the story of Bakht Ali. Their documentary examines his life, artistic traditions and relationship with the desert, presenting a portrait of resilience.
Shagufta Rasool and Munira Shah, from Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are working on a documentary titled Woman Who Carried Life Across Mountains.
The film traces the legacy of Lal Pari, a retired healthcare worker and midwife who spent decades providing healthcare services to women in the remote Shimshal Valley.
It also follows Nabila, a younger nurse continuing that work, highlighting the contributions of successive generations of women healthcare providers in isolated mountain communities.
British Council highlights importance of women’s storytelling
Laila Jamil, Arts Director at the British Council Pakistan, said the significance of Claim the Frame extended beyond producing documentaries to ensuring that more people had opportunities to tell their own stories.
She said Pakistan possessed considerable filmmaking talent and a wide range of stories deserving attention, but providing the necessary platforms and support remained essential.
According to Jamil, the collaboration between Patakha Pictures, the Scottish Documentary Institute and the British Council was helping women filmmakers develop narratives reflecting the diversity of Pakistan’s experiences.
She added that such initiatives contributed to a more inclusive creative sector while strengthening cultural connections between Pakistan and the United Kingdom through filmmaking.
Five-month mentorship and production programme
During the five-month programme, the selected filmmakers received production funding, weekly online mentorship sessions, an intensive in-person Edit Week in Karachi and specialised workshops.
The training covered documentary storytelling, camera techniques, editing and other practical aspects of filmmaking, allowing participants to develop their projects with guidance from experienced professionals.
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker and Scottish Documentary Institute founder Noe Mendelle returned for the fifth time as an international mentor.
Other mentors included filmmaker and cinematographer Nadir Siddiqui, nonfiction and animation producer Huma Murad Shah, award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Maryam Ishani Thompson, editing mentor Husain Qaizar, and sound engineer and producer Sameer Khan.
Together, the mentors provided expertise in cinematography, documentary production, filmmaking ethics, journalism, editing and sound design.
### Pakistani celebrities attend anniversary celebration
The anniversary celebration brought together representatives of the British Council and Scottish Documentary Institute, members of the diplomatic community, filmmakers, media professionals and prominent personalities from Pakistan’s entertainment and creative industries.
Among those attending were Ayeza Khan, Sana Javed, Sanam Saeed, Momal Sheikh, Ali Khan, Erica Robin, Amna Ilyas, Adnan Malik, Tapu Javeri, Amean J. and Sania Maskatiya.
The event recognised the achievements of Patakha Pictures over its first five years while introducing the latest group of filmmakers receiving support through the initiative.
Patakha Pictures, established under SOC Films, remains focused on supporting Pakistan’s next generation of documentary storytellers through mentorship, funding and opportunities for creative development.