LAHORE - Patakha Pictures, helmed by two-time Academy Award and four-time Emmy Award winning filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, has announced its first funding and mentorship programme, “Pakistan Stories”, in partnership with Scottish Documentary Institute [SDI] and the British Council.
Launched to celebrate 75 years of Pakistan through the female gaze, Pakistan Stories is the first national funding and mentorship programme which aims to support a new generation of female Pakistani documentary filmmakers who wish to create engaging films that reflect on and question their society and its 75 years of Independence.
As part of this programme, Pakistan Stories will work with 10 emerging filmmakers working in pairs, over a period of 10 weeks, to develop and finance their creative skills and support them to realise their short documentaries in a safe environment and reach new local and international audiences through their work. 
“This is a passion project for me. Telling stories that matter is what I truly believe in so with our first ever funding and mentorship programme Pakistan Stories for Patakha Pictures, we want to empower and champion creative independence in visual storytelling and support a community of emerging and the next generation of female filmmakers who embody diversity, innovation and uniqueness of vision. We realize that filmmaking is not easy, so together with our partners Scottish Documentary Institute and British Council, we are here to help our female filmmakers achieve their dreams.” said Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
“Scottish Documentary Institute is delighted to be collaborating with British Council and partnering with Patakha Pictures to deliver Pakistani Stories. We are pleased to offer a unique opportunity to female documentary filmmakers to enhance and develop their storytelling skills on time to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Pakistan’s Independence,” said Noé Mendelle, Director of Scottish Documentary Institute.
Interested female film-makers can apply for this programme at: https://socfilms.com/index.php/patakha-pictures/. The last date to submit the application is 22nd February 2022. Announcement of shortlisted applicants will be done by 24thFebruary 2022 and the Pakistan Stories workshop will commence from March 2022.