[ Policeman ]Drive around, take that street. 00:00:20.919 00:00:22.240 [ Natalya ]It’s always such serious security in your life? 00:00:22.240 00:00:25.039 [ Aryana ]Always. Always in Kabul, yes. 00:00:25.039 00:00:27.839 [ Natalya ]You don’t show your face at all on the streets? 00:00:27.839 00:00:33.963 [ Aryana ]No, I don’t. I actually… It’s easier, you know, like that. Don’t want too much attention.
Death to those who don't wear the hijab! 00:00:39.167 00:00:46.887 [ Aryana ]I’m singing, entertaining. You know, for a lady to go on the stage and perform for people openly – it is considered a taboo in Afghanistan.
This street is closed due to a recent terror attack.
We can't let you through, sorry for the inconvenience.
Show us where they should come from. 00:00:59.372 00:01:04.452 [ Roya ]We’re making film in a country that don’t have cinema, you know? We don’t have film industry, 00:01:04.452 00:01:12.659 we don’t have a studio. This country was really good civilisation and so we lost everything
[ Policeman ]A group of models and foreign journalists are here.
They want to do a photoshoot without a permit.
Awaiting orders...
[ Atefa ]It's scary when we arrive for a photoshoot in a crowded venue,
because our society is very traditional.
For them, a model's work is something new.
But we try to carry on and develop
our Afghan fashion ideas as we planned.
[ Mawlawi ]This business goes entirely against
the Prophet Mohammed's Hadith and the Quran,
and does not conform to Islamic religious law.
So what if we have no money or horses?
Does that mean we have no life?
That's it guys, sit down, sit down!
Forward! This is Afghanistan!
Sit down, come on, sit down!
In the name of the Almighty, greetings.
Today is Wednesday, the 5th of Mizan of Hijri year 1396.
Today's main news...
A missile attack was carried out on Kabul Airport
on the eve of the US Defence Secretary and the NATO chief's visit.
Five, four, three, two, one. On air!
Today, we welcome a group of models to the morning show studio.
They design traditional Afghan clothes and showcase Afghan culture.
[ Ajmal ]We face many contradictions.
Many threats made against us are worrying.
The Taliban often threatens us.
They keep saying that 'model' is a foreign word,
that our image is unacceptable and not Islamic.
[ Ajmal ]To be honest, people were unaccepting,
but Atefa, with her bravery and sense of duty, came to us.
Together, we are trying to communicate
our main idea to women, our beloved sisters,
which is the creation of a national cultural modeling agency.
She has given women the chance of a new profession.
[ Atefa ]I'd like to stress that my family was against my decision to become a model.
My dear parents forbade it.
But I made up my mind and tried hard to be successful.
[ Ajmal ]Through constant media work,
we promoted the idea that models are about dressing with style.
We found Afghan models and explained our intention to revive
a 5,000-year-old culture and good style.
Yes, we use the term 'model' but it isn't a foreign phenomenon,
because we showcase national clothes.
Sir, you helped us a lot.
I'm so grateful. Thank you.
Mum, could you cook some eggs, please?
Please, take a seat, don't make us uncomfortable.
[ Sayed ]I found it hard to accept at first.
We're a pious family and couldn't bear
our daughter working in that field.
But there's an understanding that times change...
...that there's no difference between young men and women:
they both have to choose a life for themselves.
Still, our relatives are increasingly outraged.
I have an older brother who has stopped visiting and speaking to us
ever since my daughter became a model.
There's also an uncle on my wife's side.
He's very religious, a mullah,
and he's very unhappy about it.
[ Sakina ]She's constantly insulted and threatened in the street.
They threaten to destroy her, to kill her.
The whole family suffers these humiliations and insults,
but it's worse for Atefa.
I tell her to hide her face to avoid being recognised.
[ Sayed ]Roughly 140,000 foreign soldiers have been here in the last 15 years.
But the desired outcome wasn't achieved:
terrorism wasn't eradicated, the war didn't end,
safety hasn't been entirely ensured.
[ Ajmal ]If you're going to make it properly,
then you need to make this collar, too.
Mada, do you make clothes like this?
Yes, we can create various designs and patterns.
Can you do it for different garments?
For turbans and traditional clothes such as waskats?
- Yes. - But your prices are very high.
Yes, but when you become my client, we'll be able to negotiate.
Yes, thank you, thank you. Thank you for coming.
[ Ajmal ]Kays, come here.
Did you trim your beard or something? Great.
Put this black one on with a turban.
Atefa, you'll need to change into this for the show.
[ Atefa ]What they say about Afghanistan,
that there are daily murders, terror attacks,
explosions, and constant war...
It doesn't match reality. We don't notice it.
Meanwhile, there are young people like us doing things.
Only we can solve our problems.
- Everyone ready? - Adjmal, look what shoes Feysal is wearing.
No problem. Please come through.
[ Ajmal ]Today we're participating in an event called 'We're against discrimination'.
We'll be taking part as models.
It's aligned with our goal of uniting ethnicities.
[ Ajmal ]With this performance, we show our support
for friendship and unity, regardless of faith.
We always argue that, whatever your ethnicity,
be it Pashtun, Hazara, Aimaq, Qizilbash or a different one,
we all belong to our land.
Long live Afghanistan!
Ready? Three-two-one! 00:11:25.145 00:11:30.705 [ Aryana ]If you look back 40… 40 years back or 50 years back, Afghanistan was, you know, an open-minded country. 00:11:30.705 00:11:34.791 We had music, we had singers, we had people dressed the way they wanted and everything. 00:11:34.791 00:11:42.311 But today they’ve completely changed and they are… they are trying to enforce people into their own ways of what they want people to do. 00:11:55.691 00:12:03.172 Right now, we’re in a music studio. I actually have made a song for the football league in Afghanistan. I have to go and finish it.
How are you? See you later.
We'll say, 'We're back, and we need you till morning.'
Hello, how are you?
I'm fine. 00:12:26.168 00:12:32.008 [ Aryana ]The time when I was… I was doing a show in Afghanistan called “The Voice”, which is an international show. 00:12:32.008 00:12:41.173 One of the national TVs in Afghanistan, they had gathered a couple of mullahs to sit down and talk about me. So, basically, they were brainwashing people against me. 00:12:41.173 00:12:49.222 13 nights during the Ramadan, which is a holy month. So, at the end of the show, on the 13th nights, one of the mullahs, he says: 00:12:49.222 00:12:55.424 “Whoever cuts her head and brings it – they will go to heaven.” And this was a… I still get goose bumps when I talk about it.
[ Mawlawi ]Aryana Sayeed and her like should be killed,
from the point of view of high Islamic culture.
That is, it's permitted to kill her.
There's only one question for her to answer:
'How can you perform 'naked' in public?
'Why do you do it?
'Don't you understand God's law and admonitions?
'Or don't you consider yourself a Muslim?'
If she says, 'I consider myself a Muslim but I will continue,'
then she becomes a sinner who violates God's holy laws.
I, and many religious scholars in Kabul and in Afghanistan,
believe they are the most detestable, abominable people alive.
Religious scholars permit the killing of such people
for disseminating a heretic culture.
One may spill the blood of anyone who
disseminates heretic culture in Islamic lands. 00:14:08.776 00:14:14.056 [ Aryana ]The threat was so serious that… that, you know, one of… one of the days we were shooting “Afghan Star”, 00:14:14.056 00:14:25.704 they actually blew up one of our cars and they killed about 9 of our colleagues who were working with us at the TV station for Tolo TV. 00:14:25.704 00:14:33.863 I get threats in my inbox saying, “I’m going to put acid in your face” or “you deserve to die”. All we can remember is war. 00:14:33.863 00:14:41.603 I was about 8 years old when our father decided to take us outside the country because our life was in danger. And when we got to the border, 00:14:41.603 00:14:51.409 I remember, there was like a bunch of people, and there were screams. And people were trying to cross the border. And Pakistani police officers were not letting them. 00:14:51.409 00:14:58.917 And they were hurting people with a piece of… thing that you hit horses with. I remember, and I was screaming, you know, crying. 00:15:09.573 00:15:16.612 [ Aryana So we went to Pakistan and we were living there for about 4 years in Islamabad. They were trying to take me out of the country as soon as possible. 00:15:16.612 00:15:27.824 And I was 12 by then. And they had to send me alone. And I had to pretend that I am Pakistani because they had made a fake Pakistani passport for me. It was quite scary. 00:15:27.824 00:15:36.009 That was something that I would never forget in my life and… And what I had to go through, you know? And we finally got together after many-many years. 00:15:36.009 00:15:42.671 But, again, I consider myself as somebody really lucky. We were the lucky ones who actually got out of Afghanistan. 00:15:42.671 00:15:47.391 But you returned. Yes. So how it happened and why? 00:15:47.391 00:15:58.952 [ Aryana Yes. I came back with… with a concert. As soon as I got out of the airport and I saw people, poorer than what they were years ago, and the country being in a worse situation than it was 00:15:58.952 00:16:09.528 – I couldn’t hold my tears. But I was happy. I was happy to be home, that I decided that I have to come back to this country and I have to work here, I have to do something for these people, 00:16:09.528 00:16:16.013 you know, who are in need of it. These people need happiness. These people need, you know, a moment of hope.
[ Roya ]Keep walking in a straight line. 00:16:34.147 00:16:45.988 I’m from Herat. There was a cinema, a very old building. But when the Taliban come in, they’ve broken the cinema, you know. 00:16:45.988 00:16:58.842 And after that it’s become a mosque. Now in Kabul only men go to cinema. They watch pishauri films – not serious films, just films where one dancing and one fighting – nothing else.
[ Roya ]I shot a very important film called 'A Letter To The President'.
I realised that cinema can be my support,
and serve as my main platform to relate untold stories,
and discuss a wide range of topics.
Cinema is not just a part of my life or a job.
I would say cinema is my entire life.
I'm in love with my work.
Let's watch the trailer.
Who is Soraya?
Soraya, the woman who has been sentenced to death…
previously worked as chief of the criminal division in one of the provinces of Afghanistan.
Don't talk to the journalists about her.
No, this letter is not for you.
It's not your job to take care of me, sleep peacefully.
This letter is for my kids. 00:18:12.983 00:18:19.863 [ Roya ]Me, my husband and my sister Alka produced this film with partnership of Kaboora Production. 00:18:19.863 00:18:31.029 And all our colleagues have worked with this film with very low salary and they spent more time. This film is different.
- Damn your entire family, you are so cheap. - I really don’t know, Karim.
What are you doing, Karim?
[ Roya ]After many difficulties, we finally finished the film.
It was invited for entry into the Locarno Film Festival,
where it won the feature film first prize.
It also took the feature film first prize in South Korea.
Some people questioned why this film
was screened in Locarno but not Afghanistan. 00:19:03.013 00:19:15.612 [ Roya ]Today’s our planning for… to have meeting with security department about the cinema. This week the screening for cinemas in Kabul and we invite for the whole family, not only men. 00:19:15.612 00:19:28.381 Maybe, especially during these two years that I’m busy with the film, I just waiting for one day or night free to can sleep, relax. But it’s not possible.
[ Roya ]Since I started making films, I've faced many challenges.
My latest film is being questioned because...
most find it controversial, including the title, for starters.
I even had authorities call me and ask about the script:
'What is it about and how does the story end?'
[ Roya ]The main issue is not that someone is threatening
to come with a gun and kill us, like the Taliban did, for example.
It's the general atmosphere of unrest in society
that affects our work and cinema.
Our behind-the-scenes colleagues, please come to the stage.
[ Roya ]Thank you!
Before our friends come up,
I want to apologise for not having professional screens or projectors.
We shot it in RAW format,
and it was dim because we can only show it in HD.
You are always welcome here. Thank you for coming.
Congratulations. I hope this film will be your greatest achievement,
and provide you with a bright future as a director.
Every success to you and your team.
[ Aqeela ]This evening we watched a film by Roya Film House
about the problems of a woman who works outside her home.
It's a film about me, and all women in Afghanistan – all of us.
Unfortunately after watching this film, I left disappointed.
I would have liked the producers to have found a way for the heroine
to be saved from execution and set free,
perhaps with the help of the authorities.
But this didn't happen.
It shows the weakness of our authorities.
I was very upset.
[ Aqeela ]I've been acting in films for 15 years.
I've acted in four feature films shown at international festivals.
Because of the lack of safety, stability and peace around the country,
Afghan cinema, like other art forms, has suffered a lot, and failed to develop.
I'm a mother of three with a large family of really educated, intelligent people,
but I understand the controversial issues regarding culture and traditions.
They encounter disgusting customs and useless prejudices
that prevent us from building a new cultural framework for our society.
So, I had to respect their request and leave the cinema for a while.
But I haven't left it for good,
I have simply stopped acting on screen or on stage.
Right now, I'm studying cinema economics,
as I want to make a contribution to the economy of Afghanistan
by participating in film screenings and distribution.
- Would you like an apple? - No.
- A piece of melon? - No. 00:23:43.018 00:23:54.420 [ Roya ]You know, she had one year, when I go for shooting. She can feel what time I coming and what time I go
- What part did you play in the cinema? - The part of your mother!
[ Roya ]His father's abroad and they were very close,
so I gave him more attention and spoiled him rotten as a result.
He was never like this before. 00:24:17.597 00:24:23.157 [ Roya ]You know, when you introduce a film an Oscar, this is introduced from the country. They select between some films. 00:24:23.157 00:24:38.035 We just was waiting for this permission letter from the Afghan Film. So, it was not only one night – it’s about one week until we give this letter. It was really complicated.
Come on, tell them what part you played.
Who were you in the film?
I was a cow!
A cow.
The cow is walking...
[ Roya ]My son's a little rascal, I'm sorry. 0:25:12.796 00:25:16.747 What if she just attacks me? No, I’m scared. Don’t. Come, come close. No. 00:25:16.747 00:25:22.764 Come. You’re not scared of Taliban. Why are you scared of this? Quickly! Oh, so pretty. Run away. 00:25:26.081 00:25:36.520 [ Aryana ]A month or so ago we tried to organise a concert in a big stadium in Kabul where actually Taliban used to execute people. A night before the concert we got a message from government 00:25:36.520 00:25:50.246 officials telling us there’s a serious threat against this concert. So we couldn’t take a risk like that anymore because of people. So I decided to go ahead and hold the concert somewhere else, 00:25:50.246 00:25:57.465 somewhere smaller. But the funniest part is that we even had quite a few protests against this concert which came from mullahs.
Ban this concert! Death to Aryana Sayeed!
Death! Death to supporters of democracy!
Death to supporters of Aryana Sayeed!
Death to those who don't wear the hijab!
We want Sharia law!
Death to the UN and human rights! 00:26:19.150 00:26:32.430 [ Aryana ]The day of the concert when I was preparing to perform, I had actually prepared myself to die. I actually prayed. I… I said to myself: 00:26:32.430 00:26:42.591 “You know what, today can be your last day”. And all the people who came to attend the concert, especially the ladies –there were so many ladies, it was unbelievable! They had come to support me there. 00:26:42.591 00:26:51.001 You know. And they had already accepted that anything can happen to them. And this kind of shows you, you know, the reality of Afghanistan, 00:26:51.001 00:26:58.208 the reality of Afghan people – that they are completely sick and tired of, you know, a life of forced.
I am the Lady of the Land of Fire.
I am an incurable wound on this Earth.
I am so full of hurt, pain and suffering
That even Death says 'Bravo!' to me...