stagingsaddresses urban issues “beyond the civitas” but also keeps an eyeon cultural production, image politics and media strategies.Highlighted films, international exhibitions and festivals explorethe resistive role of gender politics in Afghanistan, with asecondary aim of undermining the instrumentalization of the “women’squestion” for interventionist-political purposes. The book alsopresents photographs, film stills and related documents from the pastforty years.
Arich docu-fictional range is spanned, from a staged demonstrationre-enacting historical protests of women against the Taliban regimeto real protests against the new Afghan family law. Interviews withKabul filmmaker and women rights activist Diana Saqeb, award winningfilmmaker Siddiq Barmak, and Afghan-Canadian journalist and filmmakerNelofer Pazira reflect gender issues and current work. Film criticMadeleine Bernstorff examines the film Passingthe Rainbow by Sandra Schäfer andElfe Brandenburger. Portraits of actresses Aiqela Rezaie (Fivein the Afternoon by Samira Makhmalbaf)and Hamida Refah (Kite Runnerby Marc Foster) and the martial arts film director Saba Sahar provideinsight to the landscape of film production in Kabul.
Content
Civil / Society,Jochen Becker for metroZones
Urban settings and otherkinds too
The Making, SandraSchäfer
Passing the Rainbow
stagings
to act in history
Contested DocumentaryValues, Madeleine Bernstorff
“This is my room. Thereare no men, relax!”, Aiqela Rezaie
“I produce action filmsbecause that’s what people in this country like.”, Saba Sahar
“The government mustprovide us housing!”, Hamida Refah
People stand for theirposition, Telephone interview with Siddiq Barmak
If we keep quiet today,our whole society will be affected tomorrow, Email interviewwith Diana Saqeb
Women don’t leave home,not because of men but because they don’t feel safe, NeloferPazira
Appendix /
Biographies of those involved
