HBO DOCUMENTARY FILMS PRESENTATION "SAVING FACE" RECEIVES ACADEMY AWARD(R) FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 27, 2012 - The HBO Documentary Films presentation SAVING FACE received an Academy Award(R) in the category of Best Documentary Short at the 84th annual Academy Awards(R), presented at the 2012 ceremony of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Feb. 26.

Every year in Pakistan, many people - the majority of them women - are known to be victimized by brutal acid attacks, while numerous other cases go unreported. With little or no access to reconstructive surgery, survivors are physically and emotionally scarred, and many reported assailants, typically a husband or someone else close to the victim, are let go with minimal punishment from the state.

Debuting THURSDAY, MARCH 8 (8:30-9:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO, SAVING FACE chronicles the arduous attempts of acid-attack survivors Zakia and Rukhsana to bring their assailants to justice, and follows the charitable work of Dr. Mohammad Jawad, a plastic surgeon who strives to help them go beyond this horrific act and move on with their lives.

Other HBO playdates: March 8 (5:30 a.m.), 11 (8:45 a.m.), 14 (5:15 p.m.), 17 (1:45 p.m. ET only, 2:15 p.m. PT only, 5:40 a.m.), 20 (6:15 a.m., 11:50 p.m.) and 23 (1:45 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: March 24 (8:15 a.m.) and 28 (8:00 p.m., 2:40 a.m.)

SAVING FACE is directed by Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy; produced by Davis Coombe, Daniel Junge, Alison Greenberg, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Sabiha Sumar; edited by Davis Coombe and Hemal Trivedi; original music by Gunnard Doboze; featuring original vocals by Kiran Ahluwalia. For HBO: senior producer, Lisa Heller; executive producer, Sheila Nevins.