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In this remake of the 1987 Australian movie of the same name, Diana Cadell is a Los Angeles D.A. traveling through the U.S. Pacific Northwest on holiday when her motorcycle breaks down in a small Washington state logging town where she becomes involved in helping Lizzie Curtis, daughter of the local mechanic Tim Curtis, in pressing rape charges against the local gang who recently gang raped Lizzie and another girl. But the leader of the gang, Danny, as well as the local populous, become determined to keep the incident a secret and target Diana and the Curtis family to shut them up for good. Written by
In modern Pakistan, Ghulam Fareed lives a poor lifestyle in Meerwala along with his daughter, Mukhtaran Mai and son, Shaqoor. Meerwala is a village without any roads, schools, a Police Station, or even electricity. Girls' marriages are arranged when they are barely 12 years old. During March, 2002, Shaqoor allegedly molests a girl from the Mashtoi family, who live next door. The local Panchayat meets and decides that Mukhtaran must also be molested by males of the Mashtoi family, accordingly she is raped by about 14 men. Shunned, hurt, confused, devastated, she makes her way to the Police Station to file a report against this rape. This is where she will find out that it is not easy to find justice in a country that has been ruled by men and the military for eons, where the woman is still considered a possession - when she does well, she lives up to the family's reputation, but when she does bad, she brings shame to the entire clan. Her persistence pays off, and with the intervention of two female politicians, she has the 14 arrested. Amidst threats made against her by the Mashtoi clan, she is provided 24 hours protection by the national guard. Shortly thereafter the Courts reached it's decision: 8 of the men are set free, while 6 are sentenced to be hanged and fined 40,000 Pakistani Rupees. The media's attention is focused on Meerwala, and Pervez Musharaff's government makes the most of it to improve conditions there. Mukhtaran is awarded 5 Lakh Rupees, which she uses to build a girls' school; a road & a Police station manned by 4 constables is built, and electricity is provided. Then a school is built for males named as Ghulam Fareed Boys' School. Ironically, while the government provides funding for the boys' school, Mukhtaran herself pays for the salaries and maintenance of the girls' school. When the accused appeal to the High Court, 5 of the 6 are freed, resulting in an uproar not only in Pakistan but also in the United States. Mukhtaran meets with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and has the 5 re-arrested. She is then invited to Spain. Thereafter, she is invited to visit the U.S., a visa is provided for her, but before she could travel, she is arrested by the Police under orders from Pervez Musharraff himself, so as not to publicly humiliate his country. Mukhtaran disappears for several days, only to emerge later, admitting that she has been coerced to not visit the U.S.. Subsequently, she does visit the U.S. where is felicitated by Glamour Magazine, while the Times New York cites her as one of 100 the most influential people in the world. When she returns home to Meerwala, she is shocked to learn that a nine year old girl has been raped, and files a Police Complaint on her behalf. During the course of the four years of her trials, Mukhtaran has not only built and run a school for girls, albeit with some donations collected by U.S.-based Journalist Nicholas Kristof; a woman's crisis center, but also a sense of security and well-being amongst the general population, especially women, in Meerwala. Add to that, a male student from the embittered Mashtoi family had also enrolled in the boys' school. She is herself enrolled in the girls' school, appropriately named after her, and hopes that by enlightening young minds she can make way for a better Pakistan. As of the end of 2006, the Pakistani Supreme is yet to decide the fate of the 6 accused in this incident. Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
John Gilbert changed his billing name from Jack Gilbert to John Gilbert with this film and he would be billed by that name for the rest of his career.
The hands were created by David White who works on the prosthetics for Brad Pitt.
Shame is the story of Hawa, a young Pakistani woman, struggling to overcome the stigma of her childhood. As a child, Hawa was molested by an uncle and forced to endure the shame and guilt associated with sexual abuse. Now in her twenties, Hawa once again finds herself subjected to the humiliation and abuse that has haunted her since childhood. Written by Fatima Mojaddidy
Asta Cadell, a lawyer traveling through the Australian Outback on holiday, stops in a small Western Australian town after her motorcycle breaks down and shacks up with Tim Curtis, the local mechanic, while fixing it. She then becomes involved in helping Curtis' teenage daughter, Lizzie, who has been recently date-raped by Danny Fiske, the son of a wealthy, well-known citizen and his gang. Asta persuades Lizzie to press charges against Danny, but the local population becomes determined to keep the incident a secret at any cost and soon Asta and the Curtis family's lives are in danger. Written by





