13 Film: Smile Pinki

Smile Pinki (2008) is a 40-minute documentary directed by Megan Mylan which tells the story of a poor girl in rural India whose life is transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. The documentary won the 81st Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).

Watch Smile Pinki (4:20)

Consider this:

1. Some viewers have said that this film is “one person’s story, but in some ways, it [is] everybody’s story.” Why do you think that is the case?
2. How is this story instructive in the context of accepting physical deformity or fighting to overcome it?
3. In Smile Pinki, Pankaj is a social worker traveling from village to village gathering patients to go to a hospital in Varanasi that provides free surgery to thousands each year. Why is Pankaj equal to the greatest doctors, nurses, and caregivers worldwide and what does that reveal about the key ingredient needed to make a difference in the healthcare arena?
4. Why is shame often fostered upon people with physical deformities, causing them to self-isolate?
5. In the United States, what physical “differentness” in people is often met with ridicule (whether subtle or overt)?
6. What do you see as being perhaps the only legitimate reason for seeking to correct one’s physical abnormality?
7. Would you have acted any differently if you were Pinki’s parents as it pertained to seeking surgical help to “heal” her cleft lip?