City Desk
Lahore: Two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy celebrated five years of Patakha Pictures, an SOC Films initiative nurturing Pakistan’s emerging documentary filmmakers, at a Karachi event on 19 October 2026. Since 2022, the programme has supported 76 filmmakers whose work has won over 22 awards and screened at more than 100 festivals worldwide.
The event also introduced eight women filmmakers, in four pairs from Punjab, Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan, chosen for the eighth cycle of “Claim the Frame,” run with the British Council and the Scottish Documentary Institute. Their films cover a woman entering the male-dominated sport of tent pegging, climate change and child marriage in rural Sindh, a Cholistan artist’s resilience, and generations of healthcare workers in Shimshal Valley.
The five-month programme offers funding, weekly mentorship, an in-person Edit Week and specialised workshops. Obaid-Chinoy said she hopes to make Patakha Pictures a permanent learning and collaboration space. Several celebrities and diplomats attended.
