The fair-trade ticketing company.

Afghan Star

Davis, Saperstein & Salomon - Screening Room
Teaneck, NJ

Director Havana Marking
Runtime: 87 minutes
Screening sponsored by WOW (Wise Older Women)
In Dari, Pashto and English
A New Jersey premiere

In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing. After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, pop culture has returned to the country - and since 2005, millions are tuning in to Tolo TVs wildly popular American Idol-style series Afghan Star. Like its Western predecessors, the show features ordinary people competing for a cash prize and record deal. More surprisingly, the contest is open to everyone across the country despite gender, ethnicity or age. Two thousand people audition, including three extremely brave women. And when viewers vote for their favorites via cell phone, it is, for many, their first encounter with the democratic process. Winner of the Directing and Audience Awards in Sundances 2009 World Documentary competition, Havana Markings timely and moving film follows the dramatic stories of four young finalists - two men and two women - as they hazard everything to become the nations favorite performer. By observing the Afghani people's relationship to its pop culture, Afghan Star is the perfect window into a countrys tenuous, ongoing struggle for modernity. What Americans consider frivolous entertainment is downright revolutionary - and more human - in this troubled part of the world.

Kid Friendly: No

Dog Friendly: No

Non-Smoking: No

Wheelchair Accessible: No

Contact