Winner of both World Cinema-Documentary Audience and Directing Awards at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, the feature debut for British director Havana Marking is a rare snapshot of a society in transition--unmoored and unpredictable. Setara was eventually evicted from her home. He was a great music fan, and my guide to Afghan music," she says. Editor's Note: Afghan Star premieres Thursday, March 18, on HBO. D: While the film is observational and maintains its distance, there is an obvious empathy that comes through in the portrayal of Setara. All Rights Reserved. Lima accepts her new freedoms gingerly, in contrast to the more impetuous Setara, who causes a national scandal when she dances and lets her head-covering slip during a televised performance. The contestants are kept safe inside the show compound for the duration of the show. Following more than three decades of war and five devastating years of Taliban rule, pop culture is beginning to return to Afghanistan. She was frowned upon for the scarf moment which caught everyone's attention. Heres How To Choose, Where To Buy & More. Setara Hussainzada, a former Afghan Star participant, was devastated when her fellow countrymen called her a woman of "loose" character for dancing and singing showing her hair. The alarm clock is a hardware device that keeps an idiot at home awake. Why People Love to Hate 11 Ways to Completely Sabotage Your garade. It is not safe in Herat now. Afghan Star, the documentary about that TV show, is one of the most hopeful and heart-rending movies Ive seen this year. In this episode only, those with high music talent succeeded to the next auditions (Top 160). All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. Seguido por unos 11 millones de personas en todo el pas, Rafi Nabzada, Lima Sahar, Setara Hussainzada y Hamid Shakhizada compiten por conseguir su sueo, convertirse en el cantante ms famoso de Afganistn. Kabuls Hameed Sakhizada and Rafi Naabzada, from Mazar-i-Sharif, are both young and pretty, westernized without being Western. Afghan Star, reality TV show, searches for most-talented singers across Afghanistan, a war-torn nation. You can overdo things and they lose their spirit. His family thought he was dead because they didn't 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. The film will be screened on More4 on 7 April. United Kingdom, 2009. 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. Dont misunderstand. To find out more about the third episode please click on the link below and watch the full video. After decades of civil war, oppression and the crushing weight of underdevelopment and poverty, people in Afghanistan are clearly hungry for expression and transformation. HM: Afghanistan is very volatile and problems can flare up in odd areas at any time. Where: Zetigeist. Although music was still permitted on radio and TV, musicians were required to support the regime. A lady should not be liberal like Setara, said a man in the documentary. It's not a lot, but along with their support and contacts it made all the difference. Conservative clerics hated her. . When one of the female contestants takes off her headscarf to sing, one feels a little uneasy; as an outsider, one can only guess at the true nature of the risks she is taking. X . 1 of 1 copy available at Berklee College of Music. I chose to go first to the Channel 4 BritDoc Foundation, which gives development funding for feature docs and nurture new talent. Though Taliban was swept from power in 2001, Islamic militants still regard music as sinful and have targeted Afghan musicians in assassination plots. We all have power, but not all of us use it wisely. Starring: Rafi Naabzada, Lema Sehar, Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Habib Amiri. While HBO should be commended for showing this film, were not the audience that really needs to see it. Currently in its 12th season, Afghan Star is pure delight. Boston.com article page player in wide format. On this audition, the Ghazal fans from all over the country participated to show their talents in order to satisfy the judges for getting a success card which advances them to the next steps of auditions and finally to the top 12. 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. Afghan Star-Top7-Setara Hussainzada - YouTube 0:00 / 2:45 Afghan Star-Top7-Setara Hussainzada 282,849 views Feb 9, 2008 See www.afghanstar.tv for more information, or to comment on this. The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. subject to the rules of our, THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING, Find showtimes and theaters for 'Afghan Star', Report: Warrant Issued for Roggies Bar Owner, Boston Pops Concert Move Keeps the Beach Boys, Ditches Joey McIntyre, Lawmakers pass compounding pharmacy oversight bill, Follow this list on Twitter: @BostonPopular. I have told her leave singing because you cant be a singer in Kabul.. As the competition nears its climax, she claims even the Taliban are voting for her - because she is Pashtun. How much freedom is too much? After Daoud Sediqi decided to air the footage of the show, there was an outrage in the conservative muslim community. By the time the third series came around last year, the show had become a national phenomenon, despite - or perhaps because of - the fact that some entrants were risking their lives by taking part. Instead, its just sort of there. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Setara Hussainzada was a journalist. Hameed Sakhizada, 20, is the most musical of the four. On this audition, the Ghazal fans from all over the country participated to show their talents in order to satisfy the judges for getting a success card which advances them to the next steps of auditions and finally to the top 12. This aspect of the film is fascinating and what makes it important. Music has been caught in the crossfire in Afghanistan for the last 30 years. 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. But what we see in this film is how strikingly, and tragically, Afghanistan has moved backwards in the intervening years; and how a latent national enthusiasm for having fun is pitched against a deep set religiosity, sometimes within the same individuals. could not find your e-mail or password. Although there is nothing in the Koran prohibiting music, many Islamists disapprove of music and dance as incitements to licentious behaviour. You could only film in safe areas; we didn't go to Kandahar, for example, where one of my characters was from, because it was dangerous for us, but even more importantly, it was dangerous for her to be seen with Westerners there. Afghan Star was directed by Havana Marking and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films. Silencing the Song offers a portrait of a natural star denied a stage, a cheery diva ground down by her cultures insistence that theres no place for her. [1] Contents 1 Format I came back knowing it would work logistically, and with a taster tape of engaging characters. Habib Amiri Setara Hussainzada Rafi Naabzada Hameed Sakhizada Lema Sahar: Cinematography: Phil Stebbing: Edited by: Ash Jenkins: Music by . Finally, there was Setara Hussainzada, 22, from Herat in the west of Afghanistan. Sorry, we Afghan Star is a 2008 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 27 minutes. Menu. 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. Edit this wiki. 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. Out in the streets, condemnation of Setara is not limited to the "old guard." Find out where to watch movies online now! For the two young male contestants, both varying measures of earnestness, bravado and brittle celebrity aura, the journey to fame has a dark side. 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. Sadriddin - Setara Official Mast Music Video Afghan Tajik Music 2014. He was dead, but he got up before the whole family. Were All in for Arena Reel Star. The following are edited excerpts from that conversation. The reaction of the man in the street? 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. To follow him, go to www.twitter.com/tyburr. Hameed is a classically-trained musician from the Hazara ethnic communty, which is a Persian Shi'ite group from central Afghanistan that has frequently suffered at the hands of its more populous neighboring communities. Not the slickest or most crowd-pleasing performance-competition docu, but it's nonetheless absorbing. I have had a similar situation before, when I had an idea commissioned and then they insisted someone else direct. Despite the chaos, the hunger for music - prohibited under Taliban rule - was incredible. For one thing, the patriarchal culture makes it unlikely that women will participate, and when a couple do, one of them, Setara Hussainzada, gets in trouble for dancing on-stage and accidentally letting her headscarf slip; not only is she removed from the show, but she has to go into hiding for her safety. Even her husband fears for his life to the extent of keeping the marriage secret from his family and refusing to appear on camera without his face blurred. 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. On the same day, the fourth series will reach its climax - but with one important difference: Omaid Nizami, an air steward, is now presenting it in his spare time. One of the female singers loses her scarf while singing, and as a result receives threats from those who wish to kill her. Daoud Sadiqi, the affable host and emcee, waves the Taliban away with a snap of his fingers and calls contestants--dancing or not--"just characters I can make a better culture with." What we get is troubling enough even before Hussainzadas child is born and further hardships are endured. This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. She was frowned upon for the scarf moment which caught everyones attention. 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. Setara hussainzada ended up being a bad man.

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