Taliban who? Afghan filmmakers brave off-screen dramas

Some moviemakers risk their lives to bring provocative issues like gender and corruption to the big screen.

from the February 3, 2009 edition

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Such films earn Salahi powerful enemies. The Taliban sent him death threats after his previous movie was critical of the insurgents. He's already been told to stop producing "The Hungry Wolf." 

"I'm not scared," he says, pointing to a bulge in his right pocket. "I have my pistol. Let them come for me."

Hurdles didn't end with Taliban

Afghan moviemaking dates back to Soviet-funded film schools and academies of the 1970s. While years of war and Taliban rule dispersed much of the film community, a few directors never left the country.  

Said Rahim Saidi was one who stayed behind. He even made movies during the Taliban regime, when filmmaking was banned. His "Tears of Blood," shot in the late 1990s, tells the story of jobless youths who turn to drugs. His cameraman hid the camera under a burqa and secretly shot the cast as they acted out scenes on Kabul's streets.

"When the Taliban would come by, we would all scatter," actor Basir Mujahed says. "I would hide the camera in a crate and pretend that I was a shoeshine boy."

The Taliban captured and beat many of the crew, but Mr. Saidi managed to complete the film. In spite of the difficulties, he says that his love of cinema pushed him to continue making movies.

"I even ran secret training courses for filmmakers in my office, until one day the Taliban came and took everything, including the film and cameras," he recalls.

Filmmakers complain that their troubles continue today, albeit in a different form. "There is no money to spend, no good cameras or film," says Salahi. Like many other filmmakers here, he puts his own money into the films.

The Afghan government has also tried to clamp down on the industry. The Ministry of Culture, for example, recently asked moviemakers to submit their scripts for vetting.

"The Afghan government wants to keep film at a low level," says Siddiq Barmak, director of the award-winning "Osama," which portrays a young girl forced to dress as a boy to survive during the Taliban era. "They want us to make Bollywood-style films, but they don't want anyone to put money into making social and political movies."

Directors also say that they run up against cultural prejudices. "It's very hard to find girls to act in my films," says Sahar. "The culture doesn't allow women to act."

Some filmmakers even have to go to neighboring Tajikistan to find women. "But that's why we make these movies," Sahar adds. "It's to change people's minds."

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