Historic Night for South Asians at the 2016 Academy Awards

Filmmakers Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Asif Kapadia win Oscars for their respective documentaries; Priyanka Chopra and Dev Patel present awards

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (Diya TV) — On a night where diversity in Hollywood was top of mind, if not fully represented on center stage, two Desis won Academy Awards back-to-back for their respective works in documentary film. 

Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the Oscar for Best Documentary, Short Subject for her film, “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” an intense real-life story of Saba, an 18 year old Pakistani girl attacked by her father and uncle for eloping.

Saba survived to tell her story and the film has become a call to arms to counter so-called ‘honor’ killings. In light of the documentary, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif committed to “rid Pakistan of this evil” with new legislation.

This is Obaid-Chinoy’s second Academy Award. She won an Oscar in 2012 for her documentary Saving Face.

V shud also b very proud that govt has acknowledged the problem & is working on tougher legislation! Signs of a democracy #pakistan 2/2

— Sharmeen Obaid (@sharmeenochinoy) February 28, 2016

Asif Kapadia and James Gay-Rees received Best Documentary Feature Academy Awards for ‘Amy.’ The Academy Award comes on the heels of Kapadia’s Grammy win last week, when ‘Amy’ won for Best Music Film.

Indo-British filmmaker Kapadia directed the untold story of British singer Amy Winehouse, a six-time Grammy winner who died in 2011 at the age of 27.

Winehouse’s strong personality, turbulent marriage to Blake Fielder-Civil and love-hate relationship with the press are showcased in her music and the documentary.

This was Kapadia’s first Academy Award.

#AMY – Best Documentary Feature Wow!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/iNFkHZ9DCo

— asifkapadia (@asifkapadia) February 29, 2016

Priyanka Chopra, star of the ABC drama “Quantico” and Dev Patel of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame presented awards during the show.

This year’s spectacle was mired in controversy, highlighted on social media under the moniker #OscarsSoWhite, when it was revealed the Academy nominated an all-white slate of actors for the second year in a row.

Last month, the Academy vowed to double the number of women and minority members by 2020 and adopted controversial new rules that will allow it to take away voting rights from inactive members.

San Francisco Bay Area resident Sanjay Patel’s animated short “Sanjay’s Super Team” did not bring home Oscar gold, but the Disney-Pixar animator impressed many in his debut directorial effort. Watch Diya TV’s exclusive story on how the short was conceived thanks to a push from Pixar legend John Lassiter.

Here’s the complete list of winners at the 88th Academy Awards:

Best Picture: “Spotlight.”

Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Revenant.”

Actress: Brie Larson, “Room.”

Supporting Actor: Mark Rylance, “Bridge of Spies.”

Supporting Actress: Alicia Vikander, “The Danish Girl.”

Directing: Alejandro G. Inarritu, “The Revenant.”

Foreign Language Film: “Son of Saul.”

Adapted Screenplay: “The Big Short.”

Original Screenplay: “Spotlight.”

Animated Feature Film: “Inside Out.”

Production Design: “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Cinematography: “The Revenant.”

Sound Mixing: “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Sound Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Original Score: “The Hateful Eight.”

Original Song: “Writing’s on the Wall” from “Spectre.”

Costume Design: “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Documentary Feature: “Amy.”

Documentary (short subject): “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness.”

Film Editing: “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Makeup and Hairstyling: “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Animated Short Film: “Bear Story.”

Live Action Short Film: “Stutterer.”

Visual Effects: “Ex Machina.”

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.