HM: Daoud Sadiqi, Afghan Star's presenter, who recently sought asylum in the US, has just been granted asylum, which is great news for him and I am very happy. Where to Watch Afghan Star Afghan Star is available to watch free on Kanopy. NewsyVideos. Women, men, children, elders, Pashtuns and Hazaras: Everyone with a cell phone is allowed their say in determining the outcome of a contest that, in its own limited scope, appears to soften the lines of difference and collapse traditional hierarchies. Afghan Star was directed by Havana Marking and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films. Share your . The Taliban fled Kabul in November 2001, when America and her allies invaded. Where: Zetigeist. Is Netflix, Amazon, Fandor, iTunes, etc. The resulting tensions, unfolding in front of the camera, are what ultimately push the film beyond its own conventional framework. 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. I came back knowing it would work logistically, and with a taster tape of engaging characters. 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. 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. 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. Learn more about Setara Hussainzada - movies and shows, full bio, photos, videos, and more at TV Guide. Setara Hussainzada is an Afghan singer who appeared on the third season of "Afghan Star," a popular TV talent show in Afghanistan. Perhaps I should cover my face.. "If there was no music," a boy too young to remember the Taliban says at the beginning of Marking's film, "humans would be sad. | Countries - Afghanistan, United Kingdom | MPAA Rating - NR . She just wants to express herself with a youthful passion for which her countrymen (and women) arent ready. The film will be screened on More4 on 7 April. Thumbnail: Youtube Title - Dari: Feel free to contribute! Setara is singing and has released songs on the radio. We gave her a handycam, and so she was able to film some stuff for us. Its well made. Not rated. Sorry, we 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). And this happiness even makes me feel like dancing.. What kind of effect do you think the emotion of that whole narrative had on you and on the film? Editor's Note: Afghan Star premieres Thursday, March 18, on HBO. Heres How To Choose, Where To Buy & More. Afghan Star follows the story of Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, and Lema Sahar, four contestants appearing in the third season of the Afghan reality show Afghan Star. She was frowned upon for the scarf moment which caught everyone's attention. This is the freedom Afghanistan doesnt want. Afghan Star, which opened June 26 in New York through Zeitgeist, opens July 17 in Washington, DC, and July 24 in Los Angeles. 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. 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. 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. Afghan singer who appeared on the third season of "Afghan Star. Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed. Afghan Star is a Middle Eastern version of that program, with the difference being that in a Muslim culture, the contestants are in a real life and death struggle every day between the secularists and the devout. "They tried it," Marking says, "but the audience hated it.". "I want to be famous so I can sing for my people," says Rafi Nabzaada, a 19-year-old Tajik. AFGHAN STAR. Backstage, horrified, her fellow contestants' voices are thin when they ask, "Why is she dancing?" Id like to be more enthusiastic about Havana Markings Afghan Star than I am, but the fact is that its simply not as compelling as it ought to be. During the 1970s, Kabul had miniskirts, rock concerts and Ahmad Zahir, the Afghan Elvis - still universally popular in the country today, despite dying in a mysterious car accident in 1979. Sediqi travelled to Sundance to promote the documentary, and never came back. 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 . UNRATED Year: 2009 87 Website 440 Views. 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. The Next Big Thing in happy birthday to my ride or die, What NOT to Do in the bell bottom on which app Industry, A Brief Guide on Medicare Insurance Agency. He wasn't Taliban; in fact, he was part of the government, so you never knew what was about to happen. She should be killed, says one passerby filmed by Marking. Afghan Star. Menu. Fearing for her life, Setara goes into hiding. Afghan Star yearns for a divided country to be brought together by the most primal joy of all, yet by the final scenes Setara has been forced into hiding, and since the films release Lima has fled to Pakistan as well. You can overdo things and they lose their spirit. Setara now lives in Kabul with her husband, Yama. National unity is another common topic - and there is no Simon Cowell-style humiliation. 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. But the prize is considerable: as well as fame, the winner receives 5,000, which is 10 times the average salary. 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. I can only hope to follow that path. Women could sing in public without being whipped. Introducing Ahmad Sham Sufi Qawwali Group, Rococo: Travel, Pleasure & Madness (Original Soundtrack), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Lema Sahar, 25, is a Pashtun singer from Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold. He is Hazara, from the centre of the country, where the Bamiyan Buddhas were blown up by the Taliban, and has an interest in traditional music. Finally, there is Setara Hussainzada, 22, from Herat, a conservative city in the west. Setara, a single woman who lives alone (something that is almost unheard of), has much to fear. To see a woman make such wonderful, beautiful and heart-filled films, be successful and still be a nice person is very inspiring. Although Afghan Star is about pop, the music is very Afghan in character. I think I know why, but lets look at what works about the film first. The fallout from her performance is brutal, raging from shocked disavowals to overt death threats. Rating: . Better still, it offers the inherent drama of finding out which contestant will win. Already the show has received a warning from the Islamic Council, for "misleading the people". So his family were asleep for a few hours and when they woke up they saw him lying in the hallway. The film is based, as they say, on a true story, and the real-life Afghan woman who appeared on this television show, Setara Hussainzada, confronted tremendous opposition from religious and. Rafi (a 19-year-old idol-in-the-making from Mazar e Sharif), Hameed (a classically trained musician from the persecuted Hazara ethnic group), Lima (a 25-year-old woman from conservative Kandahar) and Setara (a 21-year-old woman from Herat): Each subject has a unique story that brings broader issues into focus. I went to Afghanistan in January 2002, just a few months after the Taliban fled Kabul, to make a documentary for the BBC about the return of music to the capital. 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 . Ty Burr can be reached at tburr@globe.com. His family thought he was dead because they didnt 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. View rank on IMDbPro . Unrated. 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. "We were incredibly lucky," says director Havana Marking, whose vivid documentary focuses on four contestants. 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. Afghan Star, the documentary about that TV show, is one of the most hopeful and heart-rending movies Ive seen this year. The second part, titled "Silencing the Fallen Afghan Star," follows the story of one of the two final female contestants, Setara, who becomes notorious for her "dance moves" and "liberal . As we all know, setara hussainzada was a genius at his job, but he was a complete idiot when it came to alarms and time-loops. Setara Hussainzada is from Herat and probably also Tajik. 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. I am confident now that I can and do have a way of directing that works. This aspect of the film is fascinating and what makes it important. 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