Browse Films

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2001 saw an unprecedented level of international interest in the lives of Afghan women living under the Taliban. With the Taliban's fall later that year, the U.S proclaimed the dawn of a new era in Afghanistan that promised peace, democracy and liberation for women. Years after this "new era" was declared, cracks in this story are beginning to appear. Afghanistan is once again in the news, not because of successful reconstruction, but because of increasing violence and the highest rate of opium production in the world. And what about the women? Since 2001, the media spotlight on Afghan women has fallen, and with it, public knowledge of the current situation they face. What are their lives like now? Have they really improved since a new government took power? Have they gained any real rights or do they still live in fear and repression? VIEW FROM A GRAIN OF SAND examines these issues through the eyes of three Afghan women: a doctor, a teacher, and a rights activist. Illustrated with footage, interviews and archival material, their personal stories lead us through the minefield of Afghanistan's complex history, and provide illuminating context for Afghanistan's current situation and the ongoing battle women face, even now, to gain basic human rights. Shot over a four-year period in the sprawling refugee camps of north-western Pakistan and in the war-torn city of Kabul, the documentary constructs a harrowing, thought-provoking, yet intimate portrait of the plight of Afghan women over the last 30 years - from the rule of King Zahir Shah to the current Hamid Karzai government. The women are powerfully moving as they re-define strength and resilience in the face of on-going struggle, and give a full and visceral picture of a still divided and brutalized nation. As world attention has shifted to other crises, this project re-focuses the camera on Afghanistan, remembering the voices of those most vulnerable and most affected by the conflicts: women.

Disputing rosy media accounts of an improved situation for women, docu profiles three females who are barely coping with state of women's rights in their homeland. PBS-style filmmaking and storytelling makes this a sure item for pub tube airings and widespread international broadcasts.
Robert Koehler
Variety
full review

searing, wide-reaching - an especially timely addition to the collective history of the plight of women under repression.
Robert Abeles
Los Angeles Times
full review

This is an excellent and fascinating film for classroom use. It will stimulate discussion and encourage students to deepen their understanding about this troubled region. It should be in every university library. It also works for high school and even elementary students as well as the general public.
Nancy Gallagher
Chair, Middle East Studies Program, UC Santa Barbara

'Gripping.' Nanji narrates this history with clarity and passion. Insightful, often heart-wrenching account of trauma, war and rights abuses.
Holly Willis
Los Angeles Weekly
full review

one of those very rare films that approaches the issue of Afghanistan, Afghan women's rights, and US policy with a decent level of sensitivity, political maturity, and sophistication
Sonali Kolhatkar & Jim Ingalls, Authors, BLEEDING AFGHANISTAN: Washington, Warlords and the Propaganda of Silence

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AWARDS & SCREENINGS:

• Aired on PBS, March and May 2009

• National Gallery of Art, Washington DC 2008

• Silver Conch Award, International Competition, Mumbai International Film Festival, India, 2008

• Best Documentary Canada International Film Festival 2007

• Cinema Verite, Iran International Documentary Film Festival 2008

• Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, Greece,

• Ljubliana International Film Festival, Slovenia, 2008
• Womens International Film Festival, Rehovot, Israel
• Womens International Film Festival, Seoul, Korea
• San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival
• Santa Barbara International Film Festival, CA
• Birds Eye View International Film Festival, London, UK
• Arab & Arab-American Film Festival, New York, USA