JULY 2010 at the SALON

THIS MONTH at the SALON:

Women Filmmakers in Afghanistan

presented by Kalpana Biswas

Roya Film House was established in Herat, Afghanistan, in 2004 by Roya and Alka Sadat, two self-taught Afghani sisters in their early twenties. Born in Herat under the Taliban, the Sadat sisters used video to document the extreme vulnerability of women and children at the mercy of a repressive and brutal tribal society. Helped by local filmmakers, who loaned them equipment on rest days, and International NGOs that provided some financial aid, the sisters have produced, directed, scripted and shot five short films and six documentaries, tackling painful subjects such as child marriage, bartering of women, wives forced into dangerous narcotics smuggling, murder by in-laws, and self immolation as the only escape. Their films have garnered international recognition at film festivals but are unable to find distributors in Afghanistan.

Kalpana will show segments from:

1, 2, 3, ?

a documentary by Alka Sadat

Playing the Taar

a feature by Roya Sadat

and an Interview with the Sadat sisters.

Kalpana met the sisters while in India. She conducted the interview as part of a documentary project about Roya Film House.

Friday, July 23 6:30p

http://www.royafh.af/

Preview of Roya Sadat’s short films http://www.cultureunplugged.com/storyteller/Roya_Sadat