While the fall of the Taliban has inspired recent documentaries (2002's Afghanistan: Through Women's Eyes [VL-9/02] and 2004's Daughters of Afghanistan [VL-11/04]) focusing on the plight of Afghan women, what sets Afghanistan Unveiled apart from similar films is its point of view: the product of a training program for Afghan women journalists, the film is shot entirely by Afghan camerawomen (a fairly remarkable feat considering the severe oppression under which women continue to live in Afghanistan). Traveling outside Kabul to the rural provinces for the first time, 14 female filmmakers interview several women, including the impoverished cave dwellers of the Bamian valley where the Taliban destroyed the giant statues of Buddha in 2001. Although many of these village women are afraid to appear on camera and others are only allowed to after receiving permission from a male relative or elder, the brutal and heartbreaking accounts of murder, rape, starvation, and depravation recounted here serve as a genuine eye-opener for the young filmmakers (indeed, the comments and emotional reactions from several of the female journalists comprise some of the most powerful material in the film). Even as they appreciate an increasing sense of self-empowerment behind the camera, the filmmakers cannot help but notice the painful juxtaposition to the lives they are capturing on film. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (A. Cantú)
Afghanistan Unveiled
(2003) 52 min. In Farsi w/English subtitles. VHS: $89: public libraries; $295: colleges & universities. Women Make Movies. PPR. Color cover. Volume 20, Issue 1
Afghanistan Unveiled
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