AFGHAN STAR
SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL WINNER
"In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing."
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
7pm
Phoenix Art Museum – Whiteman Hall
Central at McDowell
Admission is Free – Everyone is Invited
After thirty years of war and five devastating years of Taliban rule, pop culture is beginning to return to Afghanistan, and millions are tuning in to the wildly popular American Idol-style television competition Afghan Star.
Two thousand people audition to compete for a cash prize and a record deal, and when viewers vote for their favorites via cell phone it is, for many, their first encounter with the democratic process. However, not everyone is on board and more conservative Afghanis cry out against the singers’ audacity hurling condemnation and death threats. Sadly, even in a country whose population is tired of war, the fighting continues in other ways. This movie takes us somewhere that few movies have and the audience ends up cheering.
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