Bhutto to Premiere on Independent Lens, May 10
Benazir Bhutto broke more than a glass ceiling when she became the first woman leader of a Muslim country. She was not, though, the first person in her family to be assassinated. Her father, Zulifikar Ali Bhutto, was executed by the army chief he hand-picked; her brother, Shanahwaz, was poisoned; and her brother, Murtaza was shot. Is it any wonder the family is referred to as “The Kennedys of Pakistan”?
Independent Lens (PBS) will premiere Bhutto May 10, 2011 (tonight), at 10:00 p.m. (Check local listings); the film is also available on a DVD that includes bonus interviews, biographies, and the original theatrical trailer. It is a documentary portrait of a woman who led an epic life and died tragically at the hands of a suicide bomber.
Frequently a target of accusations of corruption, Benazir Bhutto was a leader, but also an unliberated woman—not in the Western sense. Much of her power was on paper only.
Director/producer Duane Baughman focuses on Bhutto’s relationship with her father and on the effect of his “judicial assassination.” Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Bhutto secured and lost power three times, ending with her assassination. In an interview with David Frost, she claimed that Osama Bin Laden was killed years ago.
Bhutto is an extraordinary, intimate portrait of both the private and political lives of a woman who swore she would bring democracy to Pakistan…or die trying.
Note: If you missed Journey of the Bonesetter’s Daughter on PBS Sunday night, you can now see the entire program at PBS.org.
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