In Afghanistan, women deciding to be actors make a dangerous choice. Banned under Taliban rule (1994-2001), Afghan theater is experiencing a comeback with many women at the forefront. But with powerful forces of Islamic fundamentalism, a resurgent Taliban, and patriarchal traditions in play, actresses often face the harshest criticism and are even sometimes viewed as prostitutes. Socially ostracized, and pressured to abandon their careers, they receive beatings and death threats for them and their family. Some are forced to flee the country and some are even killed.
Over one million Afghans live as refugees in neighbouring Iran. For Ismael, Golagha, Kashmir and Nader, the flawed Iranian asylum laws leave them in legal limbo and under constant threat of deportation. To eke out a living, they work as ball boys in Tehran’s upper-class tennis clubs. With observa...
Peyman and his friends are a group of Afghan teenagers on the cusp of adulthood, who find themselves stuck in Athens, waiting for their asylum requests to be processed. Their hope is to reach mainland Europe and re-unite with their loved ones, but it could take years and possibly never happen. In...
The House of Power (zurkhuneh), a home for traditional Persian martial arts, creates a strong community in a south Tehran neighborhood. Members gather several times a week to listen to the leader (morshed) play the drums and sing mystical poems from Rumi, Fedousi and others, as they do calistheni...
