Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star, a 35-minute documentary debuting tonight on HBO, examines the fallout of female showbiz celebrity in a culture that isnt ready for it. It was her last performance on the show. Setara doesnt really want to be the Courtney Love of Afghanistan. Afghan Star premiered in 2005, four years after the fall of the Taliban, which had outlawed singing in 1996; it is one of the most-watched shows in Afghanistan. I also heard she was engaged, which is wonderful news. She was passionate and brave woman (though also a little naive) who lived for music. Luckily, because we were working with Tolo TV, the local TV station that made Afghan Star, we had access to all information from their news teams. A study in contradictions, the Afghan Star phenomenon is both an expression and a catalyst of the dramatic conflicts that are shaping modern Afghanistan. D: Are there any other filmmakers in particular from whom you draw inspiration? 2 wins & 3 nominations. On the TV show she danced and removed her hijab while singing. Episode 04 - Kandahar & Nangarhar Auditions. Kabuls Hameed Sakhizada and Rafi Naabzada, from Mazar-i-Sharif, are both young and pretty, westernized without being Western. Any work that you looked to when you started this project? Despite its obvious artifice and uncertain future, the show has lodged itself deep in the cultural fabric by awakening something in the audience. Fastest Charging On Any Nord Phone Ever & Other Reasons Why OnePlus Nord 2T Is Worth Every Penny! "She brought shame to the Herati people," says a young man on the streets of her home town. I went to Afghanistan in January 2002, just a few months after the Taliban fled Kabul, to make a documentary for the BBC about the return of music to the capital. Out in the streets, condemnation of Setara is not limited to the "old guard." In early July, on the heels of the film's New York premiere, director Havana Marking discussed her experience with Documentary via e-mail. Here are some of the ways that logic really matters in our work. His family thought he was dead because they didnt see him for two days, but his evil plan backfired when he woke up to see his wife, son, and daughter lying dead on the floor. She is denounced by public officials; death threats prevent her from returning to her hometown. Currently in its 12th season, Afghan Star is pure delight. Zulala Hashemi, a 16-year-old girl, raised by her widowed mother is all set to break the stereotypes in Afghanistan, city so hidebound that women on streets is a rare sight, and when they do, they are clad in burkhas. It's a tough industry, and in the UK it can feel quite cutthroat. Released June 26th, 2009, 'Afghan Star' stars Habib Amiri, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar The NR movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 27 min, and received a user score of 66. Episode 02 - Mazar Auditions. Music has been caught in the crossfire in Afghanistan for the last 30 years. She was condemned by the religious leaders and faced death threats. Women could sing in public without being whipped. "Mumtaz, our driver, had been in prison for a week under the Taliban because he was found with a music cassette. We all have power, but not all of us use it wisely. Thats simply a case of cultural difference and is beside the point of the film, which is to examine the possibility of a show like this cutting through the regional and tribal differences of the contestants and the people voting for them. That same year, the Soviets invaded to prop up the communist government. It brings an energy and spontaneity to the film.". Id like to be more enthusiastic about Havana Markings Afghan Star than I am, but the fact is that its simply not as compelling as it ought to be. It's also available to stream, download and buy on demand at Apple TV. Setara hussainzada ended up being a bad man. (One interviewee simply states that she should be killed.). She just wants to express herself with a youthful passion for which her countrymen (and women) arent ready. All Rights Reserved. //-->. Afghan Star was directed by Havana Marking and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films. The film is based, as they say, on a true story, and the real-life Afghan woman who appeared on this television show, Setara Hussainzada, confronted tremendous opposition from religious and. For the two young male contestants, both varying measures of earnestness, bravado and brittle celebrity aura, the journey to fame has a dark side. As it turns out, the set alarm clock has helped setara hussainzada kill himself in his sleep without waking the whole house. In March, shortly after leaving her job as a host on the MTV-style music program, she told radio interviewers that there were rumors someone. During the 1970s, Kabul had miniskirts, rock concerts and Ahmad Zahir, the Afghan Elvis - still universally popular in the country today, despite dying in a mysterious car accident in 1979. ", Raafi Naabzada, Hameed Sajhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Lima Sahar, Daoud Sediqi. D: While the film is observational and maintains its distance, there is an obvious empathy that comes through in the portrayal of Setara. In these scenes, filmmaker Havana Marking shows a country struggling to redefine itself after decades of repression. Coiffed, painted and bedecked in festive but traditional dress, Setara is nervous but defiant in a televised performance. However, I think the film falls down in its emotional impact mostly due to Markings heavy reliancewhich may have been inevitableon the technically crude footage of the actual show. Menu. I have no idea if he was a good person that had something to do with his life or if he was a bad person that had something to do with his death. Heres a case where a little technical panache would have gone a long way toward making the question of who will win as exciting to the viewer of the film as it is to the contestants and the TV viewers. 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Here's an article from the July 2009 Documentary Online in conjunction with the film's theatrical run in June and July. For more information, click here. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Running time: 1 hour 27 minutes. A look at how contestants on the a musical contest program "Pop Idol" in Afghanistan risk their lives to appear on the show. Women who are part of the entertainment culture are looked down upon. When I am performing, I am singing for the people, the feeling of freedom comes to my soul. When I returned in 2004 for another concert, a Pashtun singer had just become the first woman, post-Taliban, to sing on Afghan TV. When you are singing, you are really full of life, says one before begging her not to stop. I just want to be a famous singer.". See production, box office & company info, [after Setara adds dance moves to her song], Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star. The most cocksure of the contestants, he is filmed going to the shrine of Hazrat Ali in his home city of Mazar-e-Sharif, where an imam prays for his victory. All user-contributed . Here, the film's tone completely changes, and as she realizes the implications of her actions the reality of modern-day Afghanistan is revealed to the film's audience. Dont misunderstand. Although music was still permitted on radio and TV, musicians were required to support the regime. The following are edited excerpts from that conversation. Finally, there was Setara Hussainzada, 22, from Herat in the west of Afghanistan. STARmeter. Subscribe to Indiatimes and get handpicked updates based on your interests! When my friend and I walked into the house at around 1:30am the night before, we all woke up to find setara hussainzadas body slumped against the wall. Cassette and video players were brought out of hiding and buffed up, while tapes and DVDs were hurriedly bussed in from the exiled Afghan community in Pakistan. Afghan Star has a great deal of fun with the national mania for the show, watching makeshift aerials pop up across Kabul, marveling at the wealthy entrepreneur who buys 10,000 SIM cards to vote for Lima, sitting quietly by as a little girl plays Afghan Star with her (veiled) Barbie dolls. With wonderful touches like watching a little Afghan girl at home making her Caucasian Barbie doll sing Afghan pop music and wear a burka, Afghan Star is an intimate peek into the lives of people who haven't been allowed to sing or watch TV under Taliban rule for approximately 20 years, as they risk their lives to create their own version of American Idol. NewsyVideos. "Afghan Star is better than politics," says one guy in a teahouse. At this point I dont know if Setara Hussainzada was a good man or not. In America, this would be a dystopian nightmare. The contestants are kept safe inside the show compound for the duration of the show. "Dancing may be liked overseas, but Afghans don't approve," says Rafi. A lady should not be liberal like Setara, said a man in the documentary. Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star, a documentary by Havana Marking released in January 2011 revisiting Setara as she deals with continuous death threats. To find out more about the third episode please click on the link below and watch the full video. He was a good friend of the president of the company that had the lawsuit with the government. . I doubt she realizes what an impact she has had on the British documentary community. Even more explicitly, the producers used the contest to promote a national, inter-ethnic unity. Partnering with Afghani producers Saad Mohseni and Jahid Mohseni, Marking follows four young contestants through the third season of a wildly popular talent show (also called Afghan Star) modeled on American Idol, in which audience members vote for candidates via SMS (Short Message Service). What sets Afghan Star apart from other singing reality shows is the mammoth participation by women, hailing from such an orthodox state. I have had a similar situation before, when I had an idea commissioned and then they insisted someone else direct. Starring: Setara Hussainzada, Lima Sahar, Hameed Sakhizada, Rafi Naabzada, Daoud Sediqi, In English, Dari, and Pashtun, with subtitles. This is the freedom Afghanistan doesnt want. Three years later, Afghan Star, the country's equivalent of Pop Idol, was launched by Tolo TV, Afghanistan's leading independent television company. The governing irony is that one cultures pop junk is anothers salvation. We then went to More4 True Stories; Sandra Whipham commissioned it instantly. [CDATA[ Great memorable quotes and script exchanges from the Afghan Star movie on Quotes.net . Singing is in my tradition." Entertainment is a risky business in Afghanistan. Lima Sahar. HM: Daoud Sadiqi, Afghan Star's presenter, who recently sought asylum in the US, has just been granted asylum, which is great news for him and I am very happy. The final was watched by 11 million people, a third of the Afghan population, all voting for their favourite singer by mobile phone; for many, it was their first taste of democracy. Not the slickest or most crowd-pleasing performance-competition docu, but it's nonetheless absorbing. Where: Zetigeist. Lema Sahar, 25, is a Pashtun singer from Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold. Unfortunately for Sadiqi, the continuing drama that makes the story so rich has very real consequences for its characters, and he reportedly left Afghanistan to seek asylum in the US as the film screened at Sundance. In fact, the smartest people on earth are usually the ones who are the most logical. I am 100 percent happy with the film, so, no, I wouldn't do anything differently. Rock the Kasbah carries a dedication to Setara Hussainzada, who did come out from under her hijab in her final performance on. Afghan Star. By all means, take your American Idol-besotted children to see this movie. Afghan Star, reality TV show, searches for most-talented singers across Afghanistan, a war-torn nation. At: Kendall Square. film before: The Crippendales) and so I was the hurdle. The Taliban outlawed music for five years. United Kingdom's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010. We all have the ability to influence the lives of others by our words, thoughts, actions, and even our blood. As a woman, she is taking a risk even entering the show. Two women made it to the final four contestants that year. What kind of effect do you think the emotion of that whole narrative had on you and on the film? They each wield massive followings who back their respective boys with the fervor of British football fans or our own Red Sox Nation. All four contestantsRaafi Naabzada, Hameed Sajhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Lima Saharare likable, even if their talent might seem fairly limited to anyone without a taste for the kind of songs they perform. Afghan Star follows the story of Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, and Lema Sahar, four Setara Hussainzada was a journalist. Habib Amiri Setara Hussainzada Rafi Naabzada Hameed Sakhizada Lema Sahar: Cinematography: Phil Stebbing: Edited by: Ash Jenkins: Music by . But its just a little too flat-footed as filmmaking to suck you completely in. Host Sediqi has been granted political asylum in America. And this happiness even makes me feel like dancing.. It offers a fascinating look into our culture as applied to another culture. | Countries - Afghanistan, United Kingdom | MPAA Rating - NR I have told her leave singing because you cant be a singer in Kabul.. Women, men, children, elders, Pashtuns and Hazaras: Everyone with a cell phone is allowed their say in determining the outcome of a contest that, in its own limited scope, appears to soften the lines of difference and collapse traditional hierarchies. Find out where to watch movies online now! When Silencing the Song picks up a year later, Hussainzada has married one of her fans and is eight months pregnant, but her life is in disarray. Starring: Setara Hussainzada, Lima Sahar, Hameed Sakhizada, Rafi Naabzada, Daoud Sediqi. Contestants Rafi Naabzada (lef) and Lima Sahar (center) performing on stage in Havana Marking's Afghan Star, a Zeitgeist Films release. I guess I just forget. The message in his songs is national inclusiveness and unity. During her farewell performance she dances with free body movements without her hijab, as opposed to the more constrained dancing considered socially appropriate. Share your . Documentary: You've mentioned that you had long been interested in Afghanistan and had heard about the talent show from a journalist. I don't mean the film is perfect, but we do have a brilliant balance between heart-filled content and craft, considering the time and place that we were. Introducing Ahmad Sham Sufi Qawwali Group, Rococo: Travel, Pleasure & Madness (Original Soundtrack), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The shows judges drive around in armoured vehicles. Regia: Havana Marking. The familys were all sleeping, so he wasnt able to kill them. You can overdo things and they lose their spirit. [CDATA[// >