I can only hope to follow that path. HM: Setara became the main character when she danced on stage. The fact that two made the final 10 suggests a little positive discrimination was employed (judges whittle the numbers down to 10; text-messaging then decides the winner). They'll see how much can really ride on a song. Setara now lives in Kabul with her husband, Yama. 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. The movie, which won directing and audience awards at this years Sundance, follows the shows third season, launched in October 2007, and focuses on four contestants from the more than 2,000 who auditioned. But when you have a deadline and a budget, you make decisions and live with them. Sorry, we HM: There were no personal threats, but a general protocol had to be followed. A Trending Reel Challenge That Can Win Us a Brand-New Swift? He was also the president of a company that had a legal fight with the government. 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. In a chilling scene, a young man looks solemnly at the camera as he declares Setara should be killed for her transgressions. Havana Marking: I knew the idea was brilliant and would be commissioned, but it was my first big film (I had only directed a 30 min. Ms. Afghan Star is a talent quest which scours for hot new musical talent in the nation of Afghanistan. Feel free to contribute! Running time: 87 minutes. UNRATED Year: 2009 87 Website 440 Views. 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. 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. Scrobble, find and rediscover music with a Last.fm account, Do you have the artwork for this album? Afghan Star is a 2009 documentary film following four contestants in the Afghan music competition, Afghan Star. "But why should I hide it? ", Raafi Naabzada, Hameed Sajhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Lima Sahar, Daoud Sediqi. While one-third of Afghanistan watches, Rafi Naabzada wins the final round, becoming the Afghan Star. [1] Contents 1 Format An eerie silence ensues between sound bites. United Kingdom's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010. Great memorable quotes and script exchanges from the Afghan Star movie on Quotes.net . When I returned in 2004 for another concert, a Pashtun singer had just become the first woman, post-Taliban, to sing on Afghan TV. They each wield massive followings who back their respective boys with the fervor of British football fans or our own Red Sox Nation. Current holds. The story hinges on one climactic moment that itself might seem rather underwhelming to Westerners unfamiliar with regressive interpretations of Islamic morality, but is as good as any fiction. I realized early on that this was a huge liberation; we went with the action as and when it happened. Im so happy! Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed. In this episode only, those with high music talent succeeded to the next auditions (Top 160). Would you like to receive event invitations, funding news, and other updates from the International Documentary Association? Documentary: You've mentioned that you had long been interested in Afghanistan and had heard about the talent show from a journalist. The idea of following the four finalists in the showand looking at their diverse tribal backgroundsprovides the film with a solid framework. But contestants on the country's answer to Pop Idol are risking not just humiliation, but their lives. This would be humorous if it werent so murderously meant and if a democratic Afghanistan werent still an idea very much in play. Now I have a set alarm clock (more accurately, it keeps me up late) and dont have a problem getting up because I know exactly when it is. The show's director and host Daoud Sediqi explains that it provides an opportunity for Afghans to enjoy music again after the Taliban's ban. Three years later, Afghan Star, the country's equivalent of Pop Idol, was launched by Tolo TV, Afghanistan's leading independent television company. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion. She lives in hiding in Kabul, unable to return. "This was when the series became really big, and everything fell into place. One of the female singers loses her scarf while singing, and as a result receives threats from those who wish to kill her. She then returns home to her family. "Politics bring misery". HM: Afghanistan is very volatile and problems can flare up in odd areas at any time. Director: Havana Marking. Singing is in my tradition." Except when it comes to Forogh, it seems. TV Shows. Your email address will not be published. The specters of repression and fear are palpable, but so too, apparently, is a wave of hope and defiance. 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. I also heard she was engaged, which is wonderful news. In December 2002, just over a year after the fall of the Taliban, I produced a concert in Kabul - mostly traditional music - for the 70th anniversary of the BBC World Service. Even more explicitly, the producers used the contest to promote a national, inter-ethnic unity. Her story, my concern and in turn the audience's concern are what make the film so gripping; the film becomes a political thriller rather than just a quirky look at modern life in today's Afghanistan. Regia: Havana Marking. 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. Except all she really wants to do is sing in public to let it rip, put on a show, be a star if only that wouldnt get her killed. 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. Habib Amiri, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar, Hameed Sakhizada, Massoud Sanjer. When you are singing, you are really full of life, says one before begging her not to stop. How much freedom is too much? What kind of effect do you think the emotion of that whole narrative had on you and on the film? Its shrewdly structured to contain an element of dramaeven two of them. She was frowned upon for the scarf moment which caught everyones attention. If we didn't care about Setara--and of course, if I hadn't cared about her in the first place--the film would not be so intense or important. When she ventures out to a closed shopping arcade, a pair of burqa-clad women approach her; you expect a tongue-lashing but instead shes praised as an inspirational figure. "She brought shame to the Herati people," says a young man on the streets of her home town. Afghan Star the show and the documentary moved on, but the director stuck around to witness the fallout on its most controversial performer. Afghan Star. Required fields are marked *. Setara said she is open-minded and wants other Afghans to be as well. She lives in hiding in Kabul, unable to return to her home province of Herat. Safety in Kabul really degenerated last year and hope was thin on the ground. We all have power, but not all of us use it wisely. Available copies. Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar. Its a frustratingly sketchy portrait; in the half-hour allotted her, Marking doesnt give us the wider cultural setting of a country struggling toward freedom of expression, and she may wrongly assume that a US viewer has seen Afghan Star. (The original documentary airs before the new film tonight and is highly recommended.). It was her last performance on the show. could not find your e-mail or password. Afghan Star is a reality television show competition that searches for the most talented singers across Afghanistan. It's not a lot, but along with their support and contacts it made all the difference. Here are some of the ways that logic really matters in our work. What's remarkable about Marking's film is not just the stories of these four contestants but the way it captures everyday life in Afghanistan - its street kids, the show's fans, people talking at street stalls. She just wants to express herself with a youthful passion for which her countrymen (and women) arent ready. The show is popular among ordinary Afghan people and fans vote for their favorite contestants even across ethnic lines.Contestant Setara Hussainzada is the first of the four to be eliminated. Women contestants, in particular, have been the object of much anger among religious conservatives. Afghan Star inspires, entertains and gives hope to a thriving young nation healing . Zulala, is one of the three remaining contestants on the show which has always seen male winners. It is the show that's rocking Afghanistan. Ty Burr can be reached at tburr@globe.com. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. But its just a little too flat-footed as filmmaking to suck you completely in. Following more than three decades of war and five devastating years of Taliban rule, pop culture is beginning to return to Afghanistan. Marking's film follows the strange odyssey of semifinalists Setara Hussainzada, . Although Afghan Star is about pop, the music is very Afghan in character. Most of us are familiar with the images of Afghanistan at war, or under the Taliban; but until the rebellion against the Soviet invasion, the country was a relatively modern state, at least in the capital. The selection of these people gives the film an interesting dynamic because all four hail from different parts of Afghanistan and two of them are women. Sahar, the more demure of the two, kept well within expectations of how Afghani women should perform in public. Lema Sahar, 25, is a Pashtun singer from Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold. Afghan Star. Think hard. Setara Hussainzada was one of the first people to lose his life while working for a company that was a competitor of his former employer. As the nation attempts to find peace after decades of conflict, 'Afghan Star' follows the screening of a 'Pop Idol' style television program, apparently gripping the nation. Not the slickest or most crowd-pleasing performance-competition docu, but it's nonetheless absorbing. Imagine this scenario: Instead of winning American Idol in 2005, Carrie Underwood is voted off the show for conduct unbecoming a woman basically, for enjoying herself while singing. This time we got our female singer; we even went one step further, with a man and woman duetting. Afghan Star is a 2009 British documentary film following four contestants in the Afghan music competition Afghan Star. 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. I have no fear. I was determined that wouldn't happen; I knew that I was the best person to direct this film. A new version of Last.fm is available, to keep everything running smoothly, please reload the site. She said she acted per her emotions. At the same time, Hussainzada remains an underground celebrity of real power. Hameed Sakhizada, 20, is the most musical of the four. Taking the inflammatory convergence of democracy, modernity and pop culture in a fragile "post-war" Afghanistan as its point of departure, Afghan Star is a powerful and evocative documentary, grounded in astute . We dont know for sure what happened, but we believe it was because the alarm clock setara hussainzada. The film will be screened on More4 on 7 April. And since one of the two female contestantsSetara Hussainzadais a rule breaker who goes beyond the dictates of Islamic religion (she shows her hair and dances during a performance), were given a much more potentially dangerous drama, since this results in death threats. In these difficult times, one entrepreneurial broadcast company, Tolo, has inaugurated Afghan Star, . "I want to be famous so I can sing for my people," says Rafi Nabzaada, a 19-year-old Tajik. The mother and daughter duo disappear into anonymity once the show recording is over. I guess I just forget. Despite the chaos, the hunger for music - prohibited under Taliban rule - was incredible. For all of you who hope that, say, Ke$ha would just go away, this movie says be careful what you wish for. 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. It's also available to stream, download and buy on demand at Apple TV. "So we'd just follow the action, turn up, drink tea, wait for the moment to shoot and leave. [CDATA[// >