PukhtunWomen

Samar’s Documentary “The Silver Lining” on HIV/AIDS was submitted as Pakistan’s entry to a regional contest organized by Asian Institute for Broadcasting Development, UNESCO, UNDP and the state-run television channel of Pakistan. “The Silver Lining” has been rated best in contest.

The film is a testament to the fact that people living with HIV/AIDS can be the ‘silver lining’ behind clouds of stigma. The documentary is based on research carried out by Samar as she traveled to Billi Tang, Kohat, in NWFP for filming the documentary, it revolves around Wazir Khayal Baacha, a man who has bravely been living with HIV and AIDS in a society that shuns and ostracizes the very name of the disease and its victims.

Wazir, who worked in Dubai for over 15 years as a migrant worker, was shocked to learn of his infection when he was informed by doctors in a Peshawar hospital that not only he, but his wife and little daughter were also infected with HIV/AIDS.

When Wazir lost his wife and child to the disease he valiantly carried on living, transforming his pain and loss into strength. Bravely sharing his experiences with others, in order to inform and to protect them and advocate prevention, he has established a purpose in his life.

“The Silver Lining” shows how people living with HIV/AIDS can bring about real change through education and advocacy in places where people avoid talking about the disease, let alone owning up to it. The stigma associated with any deadly and transmissible illness is only the reflection of fear and apprehension, but it does not make any of the prejudice easier to bear.

Wazir talks about his experiences and the way he is positively working to educate the masses. The documentary emphasizes that if people like Wazir come forward to reveal their medical status, they improve the quality of their own life by seeking proper and timely treatment but also play a positive role in the society by dispersing misconceptions about HIV transmission and the associated stigma.

When the Asian Institute for Broadcasting Development, UNESCO, UNDP and the state-run television channel of Pakistan organized a workshop with an aim to train media professionals in acquiring accurate knowledge about HIV and AIDS and be able to deal with the issue in an ethically appropriate manner while fully understanding its psychosocial component that manifests in the shape of fear, stigma, blame, denial and discrimination, it was attended by 12 producers from Tajikistan , Pakistan , Iran , Afghanistan and Syria. On conclusion, the participants were asked to produce short documentaries that were scientifically exact and ethically and socially just.

“The Silver Lining” was evaluated as being the best and will now be screened at the Media Festival and Conference on Media Strategies for controlling the pandemic to be held in Kuala Lumpur in May 2007.

Samar makes socially relevant documentaries that are catalytic in bringing about social change and reform in communities. She specializes in making documentaries in local languages on issues that are difficult to address. Her main target audience lives in the rural areas, and her documentaries are always culturally sensitive. Through her previous documentaries, she has covered issues like the custom of ‘Swara’ Child Labour, Religious Intolerance, the impact of war on Afghan Refugee women, suicide bombings, and now HIV and AIDS. Her documentaries have been internationally acclaimed at various film festivals. Some are also being used as educational tools by various government and non-government organizations.