Afghan Star

UK / Afghanistan 2009, 87 minutes
Dir. Havana Marking
Rating: [PG]
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Documentary, Music

Aroview: Islamic fundamentalism and pop music commericalism make uneasy bedfellows in this vital, eye-opening documentary that follows the fortunes of four contestants competing for the title of "Afghan Star", a TV phenomenon modelled on the Pop Idol format.

A much wider snap-shot of Afghani culture emerges through what is ostensibly a film about entertainment, and this sweeps away many preconceptions about this war-ravaged Islamic nation since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, where both free democracy and pop music are both novel and risky concepts. A memorable and entirely translatable addition to the canon of films about better understanding our Middle-eastern neighbours.

NZ International Film Festival 2009