The only movie made in Afghanistan this year was directed by a woman, who says she cast herself when the original actress’s feet were cut off by the Taliban. At the premiere in Kabul, some were slightly more skeptical.
The film is about a woman who starts a cafe that serves wine in war-torn Kabul and brings together coalition troops and Afghans, despite death threats and then assassinations by the Taliban. Judging from the trailer, which contains the subtitled line, “The open mic, poetry and music in your restaurant are detrimental and not allowed in Islam!” the Taliban is less concerned about the alcohol and more about the jam.
According to The Times‘ writeup of the premiere, Afghans watching had other quibbles: they said it was clearly made by someone who didn’t live there (true — Sonia Nassery Cole left in the 70s, as a teenager, though she’s been active in Afghanistan-related causes for decades) because of all the public touching and female swearing happening. “The director and workers grew up in America and don’t know much about Afghan culture, that is the point,” said one person. At least, says The Times, “the audience [stayed] until the end, although many people engaged in loud cellphone conversations throughout.”
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