"Afghan Star is better than politics," says one guy in a teahouse. I realized early on that this was a huge liberation; we went with the action as and when it happened. 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. Starring: Setara Hussainzada, Lima Sahar, Hameed Sakhizada, Rafi Naabzada, Daoud Sediqi, In English, Dari, and Pashtun, with subtitles. Maybe theyll come away with a knowledge of how much can really ride on a song. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Episode 03 - Herat Audition. After Daoud Sediqi decides to air the footage, there is outrage in the conservative Muslim community and Setara receives death threats and is evicted from her apartment. Sorry, we Any work that you looked to when you started this project? United Kingdom's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010. 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. She said she acted per her emotions. Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed. Some traditionalists said Setara deserves to be killed. Where: Zetigeist. . ", Raafi Naabzada, Hameed Sajhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Lima Sahar, Daoud Sediqi. After all, the smartest people on earth rarely act like idiots. Setara is singing and has released songs on the radio. You can overdo things and they lose their spirit. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. Rating: Unrated. Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. Mostly Islamist in outlook, the Mujahideen placed restrictions on music and outlawed women singers. Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed. (One interviewee simply states that she should be killed.). Habib Amiri, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar, Hameed Sakhizada, Massoud Sanjer. All Rights Reserved. This aspect of the film is fascinating and what makes it important. Afghan Star Year: 2009: Director: Havana Marking: Stars: Daoud Sediqi, Rafi Naabzada, Setara Hussainzada, Hameed Sakhizada, Lima Sahar, various: Genre: Documentary, Music: Rating: 8 (from 2 votes) Review: Afghanistan has had more than its share of troubles over the years, but perhaps there could be a way of uniting a country which has been split apart by conflicts from the Mujahadeen and the . In these scenes, filmmaker Havana Marking shows a country struggling to redefine itself after decades of repression. Afghan Star is a talent quest which scours for hot new musical talent in the nation of Afghanistan. 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. This Gecko Trapped In Amber Is 54 Million Years Old, Still Looks Alive, Shubman Gill Joins Elite List As He Becomes Latest Member Of ODI 200 Club, Tejasvi Surya, IndiGo Still Silent On If It Was The MP Who Opened The Flight's Emergency Door, Wasim Akram Is A Cricket Legend And Now His Son Is On His Way To Becoming A Professional MMA Fighter, 9 Craziest Wildest Sexual Fantasies Ideas List with Examples (Girls & Boys), Blood For The First Night: Amazon Is Selling Product To Fake Virginity & People Can't Digest It, Apart From Aman Gupta's BoAt, All Shark Tank India Judges Are Apparently Drowning In Losses, Not Jeff Bezos Or Elon Musk, These 11 People Are The Richest People In Human History, The Badshah Of Bollywood Is Back! Setara said she is open-minded and wants other Afghans to be as well. How did you get started and put it all together? Sediqi travelled to Sundance to promote the documentary, and never came back. It's a tough industry, and in the UK it can feel quite cutthroat. And this happiness even makes me feel like dancing.. Scrobble, find and rediscover music with a Last.fm account, Do you have the artwork for this album? "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. It brings an energy and spontaneity to the film.". Day-to-day, it affected us because we couldn't really plan anything in advance due to kidnap threat. I have no fear. 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. These comic reversals move at the speed of tectonic plates. I think that this is the most important fact about Setara Hussainzada, because it shows us how much the government thought about him when they killed him. It's not a lot, but along with their support and contacts it made all the difference. So his family were asleep for a few hours and when they woke up they saw him lying in the hallway. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. 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. At the same time, Hussainzada remains an underground celebrity of real power. As the filmmakers point out, for many Afghanis--about 68 percent of whom are under age 25, according to the United National Development Programme--this is a first flirtation with democracy. 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. He was also the president of a company that had a legal fight with the government. Editor's Note: Afghan Star premieres Thursday, March 18, on HBO. In January, Marking's documentary (also called Afghan Star) took two prizes in the Sundance film festival's world cinema category: best documentary director, and the audience award for a documentary. Current holds. She just wants to express herself with a youthful passion for which her countrymen (and women) arent ready. Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform. She has started her life as a mother, still hoping to be a pop-music idol someday. I have told her leave singing because you cant be a singer in Kabul.. Setara Hussainzada. 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. . Out in the streets, condemnation of Setara is not limited to the "old guard." "This was when the series became really big, and everything fell into place. The security situation meant that, for fear of kidnap, Marking couldn't set anything up in advance. Mad visionaries that they are, they gave me 15k immediately. Yet when the popular enthusiasm for voting for a favourite star seems in part driven by the sense of futility in voting in elections, one fears that the dark days may not yet be over. 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. Young women admired her. The film focuses on four of the top contestants, Rafi Naabzada, Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, and Lema Sahar. Starring: Rafi Naabzada, Lema Sehar, Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Habib Amiri. 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. Instead, its just sort of there. Setara Hussainzada is from Herat and probably also Tajik. // Callaway Apex Irons 2023, Oh Tell Me I May Sponge Away The Writing On This Stone Analysis, Articles A