Saving Face

Year: 2012

Duration: 40 min

This Academy Award-winning short documentary examines the issue of acid violence in Pakistan and the efforts of plastic surgeon Dr. Mohammad Jawad to improve the victims' lives. Several women whose faces have been disfigured by acid explaining about their attacks, often at the hands of their husbands. Over a hundred attacks are reported every year, and a free clinic has been established in Islamabad. Jawad talks about his medical work and his sense, upon hearing of the violence in his homeland, that he "must do something." He meets with Zakia, a 39-year-old woman who was badly scarred on one side of her face when her abusive addict husband, Pervez, assaulted her during their divorce proceedings. He was arrested, and in the police wagon, Pervez protests his innocence, saying that someone else attacked Zakia and that there is a "conspiracy" against him, and his father adds that Zakia had an adulterous affair. Jawad then meets with 25-year-old Rukhsana, who tearfully explains that her husband, sister-in-law and mother-in-law all attempted to burn her to death, after which she was forced to move back in with them when her children became ill. At her home, she shows the room in which she was attacked and describes the incident, but her husband Yasir states that he did not abuse her, claiming that she accidentally set herself on fire in a moment of anger. At a support group, the various women convene and talk, and Zakia and her son Waheed meet with her lawyer, Sarkar Abbas, who explains her plans for Pervez's trial and states that she wants to set a precedent for prosecuting acid violence with Zakia's case. A stakeholders' meeting is held to debate new crime legislation, and those present debate whether or not acid attacks should be punishable by death or a reciprocal action. Rukhsana gives a speech, and Marvi Memon, a member of Parliament, talks with the women and explains that the crime bill seeks life imprisonment.Zakia begins to suffer serious pain from her attack, and Jawad discusses his plans to create a better symmetry and elasticity in her face with surgery. At the hospital, she eagerly anticipates her "rebirth," though he stresses the importance of providing realistic expectations. During the operation, he applies artificial tissue and summons an optical surgeon, and they are disappointed to learn that her eye and eye socket cannot be saved. Later, he talks with her and discusses plans for further procedures. At home, Rukhsana shows how she is literally walled off from her daughter, and then is surprised to learn that she is eight weeks pregnant. Her surgery is delayed, but she expresses hope that the new baby will bring her happiness, wishing that it will be a boy, as girls' lives are harder in her society. Memon presents the life-imprisonment bill to Parliament and it is passed unanimously, to everyone's pleasure. Zakia testifies against her husband with her face covered, but the verdict is delayed. She and her daughter Sumbul wait anxiously for word, and are both thrilled when Abbas informs them that Pervez has been given two life sentences, being the first case under the new law. Zakia happily shares the news with Jawad, and he brings in a specialist who creates an external facial prosthesis for her, which she holds in place with glasses. Rukhsana gives birth to a boy, whom she names Mohammad, and she and Jawad make plans for her future surgeries. He states that he is "saving his own face" as well as the women's, as he is part of the society with the "disease" of violence. Zakia ventures outside without her veil and glasses, saying that she has greater hopes for her new life.

Genre: Documentary   Drama