Documentary Analysis (Saving Face)

Every year hundreds of people -mostly women-are attacked with acid in Pakistan. SAVING FACE follows several of these survivors, their fight for justice, and a Pakistani plastic surgeon who has returned to his homeland to help them restore their faces and their lives.

It is a Oscar-winning, mixed documentary directed by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daniel Junge.

• The documentary begins with a point of view shot to show an acid victim looking at her past pictures in which her face was not burnt.
• Then, the name of the documentary written in Serif fonts fades in and out of the frame. 
• Parallel editing is used to simultaneously show the victims' life stories, interview with the doctor and his practice in the field of plastic surgery working to restore the acid burn victim's faces and thus, their lives. 
• An omniscient narrator explains the scenes in the documentary and addresses questions to the interviewees from this omniscient pedestal.
• Folk music is used as a background score as this genre of music is conventional to the area, Pakistan, where the documentary is set. 

• Establishing shots are used to give the audience an overview of the place where the documentary is filmed.
• Demographic information is displayed to give the audience a deeper insight into the issue being portrayed in the documentary.
• The omniscient narrator conducts the interviews while interviewees answer without looking at the camera with the exception of the plastic surgeon who engages the audience through direct eye contact.
• Wide shots are used to establish the locations where the characters are present while the character gives an insight into their plight so that the audience feels as if they are present in the place and are viewing it themselves.
• Over the shoulder shots are used to show the conversation between Marvi Memon, a Pakistani politician, and the acid victims.
• Actuality and interviews, features of a mixed documentary, are incorporated in the documentary as two victims life journeys are recorded along with interviews from these victims and others involved in their lives are added so as to give the audience proper details to understand their plight.
• Using two woman, Zakia and Rukhsana, as examples the director defines the usual course of events in an acid victim's life while emphasizing that these were the lucky few who got medical assistance and justice. 
• The documentary ends as light is brought back in the darkened lives of these two victims and as message of hope is passed on to the rest of the victims as is the message of justice and punishment passed on to the culprit.
• Ending credits are displayed at the very end.