The film looks at where Setara is now and the impact that her controversial performance has had on her life and her country, including ever-present threats to her safety. Afghan Star, the TV show, is exactly what American Idol would look like if the contestants were playing for the biggest stakes imaginable: political and social freedom, gender equality, a chance to heal a country 30 years under the yokes of war and religious dictatorship. Simon Broughton reports, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, Taboo buster 2008 Afghan Star finalist Lema Sahar, who claimed the Taliban were voting for her. 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. The road to liberalism and equality seems like an idea beyond reach but it is not unattainable. Except when it comes to Forogh, it seems. We Say, Yes! Setara Hussainzada "Afghan Star" this I call Freedom to express - YouTube Story of Hameed Sakhizada, appearing in the third season of the Afghan reality show Afghan Star. Would you like to receive event invitations, funding news, and other updates from the International Documentary Association? Launched in 2005, Afghan Star quickly became the most popular show in the country satiating the nation's thirst for home grown entertainment and filling a void left in the local music scene after decades of war. In 2007, Setara Hussainzada was one of four contestants and one of two women on the third season of Afghan Star, a widely popular TV show that debuted in the cultural flowering following the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Conservative clerics hated her. 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. Setara said she is open-minded and wants other Afghans to be as well. Its shrewdly structured to contain an element of dramaeven two of them. And this happiness even makes me feel like dancing.. When the Taliban were taken out of power in 2001, it was no longer a punishable crime in Afghanistan to watch TV, dance, or listen to popular music. The program is seen not so much as a talent show, but as a pop-culture phenomenon that has the ability to move Afghanistan a little closer to a sense of national unity. "I believe there is no difference between a woman and a man," she declares. Despite the chaos, the hunger for music - prohibited under Taliban rule - was incredible. Setara, a single woman who lives alone (something that is almost unheard of), has much to fear. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Rating: Unrated. //-->. Three years later, Afghan Star, the country's equivalent of Pop Idol, was launched by Tolo TV, Afghanistan's leading independent television company. 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. The message in his songs is national inclusiveness and unity. Here's an article from the July 2009 Documentary Online in conjunction with the film's theatrical run in June and July. In this follow-up to 'Afghan Star,' filmmaker Havana Marking returns to Afghanistan to check in on infamous contestant Setara from the popular Afghan talent show of the same name. Afghan Star, An Unlikely Platform For Liberation in Afghanistan, Is A Beacon Of Hope For Women. Sorry, we streaming Afghan Star? Zulala, is one of the three remaining contestants on the show which has always seen male winners. He was dead, but he got up before the whole family. What is this country that youngsters cannot make their voices heard, she despairs. But when you have a deadline and a budget, you make decisions and live with them. Instead, its just sort of there. Here's an article from the July 2009 Documentary Online in conjunction with the film's theatrical run in June and July.. Her act of defiance changes the tone and direction of the film, as the controversy intensifies and new ones arise. When Silencing the Song picks up a year later, Hussainzada has married one of her fans and is eight months pregnant, but her life is in disarray. IMDB: 7.3 . For more on movies, go to www.boston.com/movienation. 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 . 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. This would be humorous if it werent so murderously meant and if a democratic Afghanistan werent still an idea very much in play. Better still, it offers the inherent drama of finding out which contestant will win. Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. A study in contradictions, the Afghan Star phenomenon is both an expression and a catalyst of the dramatic conflicts that are shaping modern Afghanistan. D: Do you keep in touch with any of the subjects, or have any recent news? In Havana Marking's "Afghan Star," "Pop Idol" comes to Kabul. 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. [CDATA[> 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. I was determined that wouldn't happen; I knew that I was the best person to direct this film. His company was involved in a massive lawsuit with the government that ultimately ended his life. 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. This country was like a house that no one was living in, says Rafi, implying that the lights are coming on again, one by one. In early July, on the heels of the film's New York premiere, director Havana Marking discussed her experience with Documentary via e-mail. Then she marries one of her fans and has a baby, hoping for a measure of safety and forgiveness. We dont know for sure what happened, but we believe it was because the alarm clock setara hussainzada. In March, shortly after leaving her job as a host on the MTV-style music program, she told radio interviewers that there were rumors someone. Scrobble, find and rediscover music with a Last.fm account, Do you have the artwork for this album? 0 current holds with 1 total copy. 2 wins & 3 nominations. D: How did the sense of unpredictability (and danger) in the field affect your work as a director, and the development of the film? Rock the Kasbah carries a dedication to Setara Hussainzada, who did come out from under her hijab in her final performance on. The performers in Afghan Star, both men and women, hardly move on stage. After all, the smartest people on earth rarely act like idiots. Even the audience members must go through multiple security checks. General o Since the late 1970s, Afghan people have suffered foreign invasions, civil wars, and Taliban rule. 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). Music and signing, an unacceptable custom in Afghanistan, seems to be the only means to bring some peace and harmony on weekend nights in the middle of civil wars that have devastated much of the country and continues till today. 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. The mother and daughter duo disappear into anonymity once the show recording is over. "Dancing may be liked overseas, but Afghans don't approve," says Rafi. I am 100 percent happy with the film, so, no, I wouldn't do anything differently. Edit this wiki. He wasn't Taliban; in fact, he was part of the government, so you never knew what was about to happen. It brings an energy and spontaneity to the film.". Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. // ]]]]>
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