Finally, there was Setara Hussainzada, 22, from Herat in the west of Afghanistan. Editor's Note: Afghan Star premieres Thursday, March 18, on HBO. Setara Hussainzada is from Herat and probably also Tajik. Here, the film's tone completely changes, and as she realizes the implications of her actions the reality of modern-day Afghanistan is revealed to the film's audience. Afghan Star was directed by Havana Marking and is distributed by Zeitgeist Films. Were All in for Arena Reel Star. To find out more about the third episode please click on the link below and watch the full video. The results are sadly lackluster, even if the concept and the intent are admirable. D: How did the sense of unpredictability (and danger) in the field affect your work as a director, and the development of the film? Here's an article from the July 2009 Documentary Online in conjunction with the film's theatrical run in June and July. Current holds. Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. When she ventures out to a closed shopping arcade, a pair of burqa-clad women approach her; you expect a tongue-lashing but instead shes praised as an inspirational figure. Did it lead you to other ideas or passions? I am 100 percent happy with the film, so, no, I wouldn't do anything differently. Ghazals Afghans Mahwash 135 listeners Ghulam Hussain & Haider Gul Ghulam Hussain 1 listener Amank Dionti Ablaye Cissoko 5,134 listeners Show more Shoutbox About This Artist Setara Hussainzada 379 listeners Setara Hussainzada is an Afghan singer who appeared on the third season of "Afghan Star," a popular TV talent show in Afghanistan. Two women made it to the final four contestants that year. The program is seen not so much as a talent show, but as a pop-culture phenomenon that has the ability to move Afghanistan a little closer to a sense of national unity. She was condemned by the religious leaders and faced death threats. Every so often, the neighbors call the police; at one point, 40 armed soldiers turn up at her door. . . I don't mean the film is perfect, but we do have a brilliant balance between heart-filled content and craft, considering the time and place that we were. Setara Hussainzada is an Afghan singer who appeared on the third season of "Afghan Star," a popular TV talent show in Afghanistan. Silencing the Song offers a portrait of a natural star denied a stage, a cheery diva ground down by her cultures insistence that theres no place for her. Setara Hussainzada is an Afghan singer who appeared on the third season of "Afghan Star," a popular TV talent show in Afghanistan. You can overdo things and they lose their spirit. After all, the smartest people on earth rarely act like idiots. This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. She has started her life as a mother, still hoping to be a pop-music idol someday. And all the ethnic groups were represented." "But an artist has to follow the people," he says. See here for our terms of service. Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen to, from any Spotify app on any device or platform. Afghan Star is a reality television show competition that searches for the most talented singers across Afghanistan. Go directly to shout page. Setara Hussainzada - YouTube 0:00 / 3:16 Setara Hussainzada 200,872 views Dec 22, 2007 301 Dislike Share Save TOLO TV 1.15M subscribers Setara Hussainzada, a finalist in the Top 12 of. Afghan Star follows the story of Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, and Lema Sahar, four contestants appearing in the third season of the Afghan reality show Afghan Star. The mother and daughter duo disappear into anonymity once the show recording is over. For the final telecast, 11 million viewers - a third of the country - tuned in, and the film understands that while voting for a singer by cellphone may be one of the sillier forms of democracy, its still an immensely powerful one for people whove long lacked a voice. Ty Burr can be reached at tburr@globe.com. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government. She explains that she is open-minded and that she wants other Afghans to be as well. I think this is the most important thing about Setara Hussainzada, because it shows us how much the government thought about him. Why People Love to Hate 11 Ways to Completely Sabotage Your garade. Afghan Star has a great deal of fun with the national mania for the show, watching makeshift aerials pop up across Kabul, marveling at the wealthy entrepreneur who buys 10,000 SIM cards to vote for Lima, sitting quietly by as a little girl plays Afghan Star with her (veiled) Barbie dolls. "Afghan Star is better than politics," says one guy in a teahouse. In this follow-up to 'Afghan Star,' filmmaker Havana Marking returns to Afghanistan to check in on infamous contestant Setara from the popular Afghan talent show of the same name. Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed. What we get is troubling enough even before Hussainzadas child is born and further hardships are endured. Afghan Star premieres at the Ritzy, London SW2 (0871 704 2065), on Friday. This country was like a house that no one was living in, says Rafi, implying that the lights are coming on again, one by one. It is one of the most disturbing scenes in the film: we see her headscarf slip as she moves - modestly - to the music. Afghan Star, a 2009 documentary film followed the lives of four contestants on the show - Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, and Lema Sahar who appeared on the third season of the show. Women who are part of the entertainment culture are looked down upon. Rating: . Any of it? Boston.com article page player in wide format. Setara Hussainzada was eliminated first, and while on air she danced without a hijab, receiving death threats as a result. His family thought he was dead because they didnt see him for two days, but his evil plan backfired when he woke up to see his wife, son, and daughter lying dead on the floor. I have told her leave singing because you cant be a singer in Kabul.. The show premiered in September 2005 on Tolo TV, four years after the fall of Taliban. United Kingdom's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010. "Mumtaz, our driver, had been in prison for a week under the Taliban because he was found with a music cassette. It seems that the government wanted him dead because he was a journalist with a great deal of influence over the countrys political landscape. Think hard. Setara Hussainzada, Self: Afghan Star. Afghan Star, An Unlikely Platform For Liberation in Afghanistan, Is A Beacon Of Hope For Women. In March, shortly after leaving her job as a host on the MTV-style music program, she told radio interviewers that there were rumors someone. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar. Our aim is to take peoples minds from weapons to music, says the shows host, Daoud Sediqi, a Ryan Seacrest with actual gravitas. Despite its obvious artifice and uncertain future, the show has lodged itself deep in the cultural fabric by awakening something in the audience. "She deserves to be killed." Fearing for her life, Setara goes into hiding. AFGHAN STAR (director: Havana Marking; cinematographer: Phil Stebbing; editor: Ash Jenkins; music: Simon Russell; cast: Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Nabaazda, Hameed Sahkizada, Lema Sehar, Daoud Sediqi; Runtime: 87; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Havana Marking; Zeitgeist Films; 2009-UK/Afghanistan-English, Dari and Pashtun with English subtitles) She just wants to express herself with a youthful passion for which her countrymen (and women) arent ready. AFGHAN STAR. Hameed is a classically-trained musician from the Hazara ethnic communty, which is a Persian Shi'ite group from central Afghanistan that has frequently suffered at the hands of its more populous neighboring communities. When one of the female contestants takes off her headscarf to sing, one feels a little uneasy; as an outsider, one can only guess at the true nature of the risks she is taking. His family thought he was dead because they didn't see him for two days, but his evil plan backfired when he woke up to see his wife, son, and daughter lying dead on the floor. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Released by Silva Screen in 2009 (1292) containing music from Afghan Star (2009). The alarm clock is a hardware device that keeps an idiot at home awake. Kabuls Hameed Sakhizada and Rafi Naabzada, from Mazar-i-Sharif, are both young and pretty, westernized without being Western. Habib Amiri, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar, Hameed Sakhizada, Massoud Sanjer. . She crafts things perfectly and still keeps all the the spirit and emotion. The show's. Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company. Here are some of the ways that logic really matters in our work. Your email address will not be published. Some user-contributed text on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. D: Do you keep in touch with any of the subjects, or have any recent news? "Politics bring misery". Finally, there is Setara Hussainzada, 22, from Herat, a conservative city in the west. Afghan Star (2009) Directed by Havana Marking Genres - Culture & Society , Film, TV & Radio , Music | Sub-Genres - Social History , Social Issues , Politics & Government | Release Date - Jun 26, 2009 (USA - Limited) | Run Time - 87 min. Taking the inflammatory convergence of democracy, modernity and pop culture in a fragile "post-war" Afghanistan as its point of departure, Afghan Star is a powerful and evocative documentary, grounded in astute . TV Shows. For all intents and purposes, theyre both Kris Allen, yet each of them has an awareness of what they mean to a society struggling to its feet. "She brought shame to the Herati people," says a young man on the streets of her home town. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion. Not rated. But when you have a deadline and a budget, you make decisions and live with them. A Trending Reel Challenge That Can Win Us a Brand-New Swift? View rank on IMDbPro . Episode 01 - Kabul Auditions. Lema Sahar, 25, is a Pashtun singer from Kandahar, a Taliban stronghold. Rafi (a 19-year-old idol-in-the-making from Mazar e Sharif), Hameed (a classically trained musician from the persecuted Hazara ethnic group), Lima (a 25-year-old woman from conservative Kandahar) and Setara (a 21-year-old woman from Herat): Each subject has a unique story that brings broader issues into focus. For the two young male contestants, both varying measures of earnestness, bravado and brittle celebrity aura, the journey to fame has a dark side. Although there is nothing in the Koran prohibiting music, many Islamists disapprove of music and dance as incitements to licentious behaviour. It offers a fascinating look into our culture as applied to another culture. Afghan Star. They each wield massive followings who back their respective boys with the fervor of British football fans or our own Red Sox Nation. The road to liberalism and equality seems like an idea beyond reach but it is not unattainable. Despite the chaos, the hunger for music - prohibited under Taliban rule - was incredible. But as much as I like to think of myself as a rationalist, I think that logic is just as important as any other tool in our arsenal. Starring: Rafi Naabzada, Lema Sehar, Hameed Sakhizada, Setara Hussainzada, Habib Amiri. During her farewell performance she dances with free body movements without her hijab, as opposed to the more constrained dancing considered socially appropriate. Feel free to contribute! Women, men, children, elders, Pashtuns and Hazaras: Everyone with a cell phone is allowed their say in determining the outcome of a contest that, in its own limited scope, appears to soften the lines of difference and collapse traditional hierarchies. While one contestant emerges as the indisputable heroine, music is the first subject of the film, and protagonists and filmmakers alike want us to see it as they do: powerful, transformative, essential. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. When my friend and I walked into the house at around 1:30am the night before, we all woke up to find setara hussainzadas body slumped against the wall. The fact that two made the final 10 suggests a little positive discrimination was employed (judges whittle the numbers down to 10; text-messaging then decides the winner). HM: It has made me really want to tell more stories and make more films. Regia: Havana Marking. When the Taliban took Kabul in 1996, they restored order but put a total ban on music and TV. Most of the songs are indistinguishable from commercial central Asian pop, but the lyrics have a poetic quality, particularly the love songs: "Her eyebrows are like a bow shooting an arrow at me." Setara Hussainzada. The film is based, as they say, on a true story, and the real-life Afghan woman who appeared on this television show, Setara Hussainzada, confronted tremendous opposition from religious and. Habib Amiri Setara Hussainzada Rafi Naabzada Hameed Sakhizada Lema Sahar: Cinematography: Phil Stebbing: Edited by: Ash Jenkins: Music by . Id like to be more enthusiastic about Havana Markings Afghan Star than I am, but the fact is that its simply not as compelling as it ought to be. In this episode only, those with high music talent succeeded to the next auditions (Top 160). Menu. . After Daoud Sediqi decides to air the footage, there is outrage in the conservative Muslim community and Setara receives death threats and is evicted from her apartment. In Afghanistan, Marking worked with a very small crew: cameraman Phil Stebbing (who also did the sound), a driver, and a bodyguard (who was an Afghan wrestling champion). "Dancing may be liked overseas, but Afghans don't approve," says Rafi. You could only film in safe areas; we didn't go to Kandahar, for example, where one of my characters was from, because it was dangerous for us, but even more importantly, it was dangerous for her to be seen with Westerners there. At: Kendall Square. I came back knowing it would work logistically, and with a taster tape of engaging characters. In the end, 11 million people (a third of the population) tune in to watch the finale, gathering in homes, fruit shops, coffee houses and military barracks. (Setara Hussainzada) Get this album or track at: 0:26: 5. The following are edited excerpts from that conversation. She is denounced by public officials; death threats prevent her from returning to her hometown. I used to get up every morning at the same time and would simply go to bed the same time. Women like Setara Hussainzada and Zulala Hashemi are paving the path for new beginnings in Afghanistan. Afghan Star soundtrack from 2009, composed by Various Artists. National unity is another common topic - and there is no Simon Cowell-style humiliation. Where to Watch Afghan Star Afghan Star is available to watch free on Kanopy. Head film critic for Mountain Xpress from December 2000 until his death in June 2016. Setara hussainzada ended up being a bad man. Hussainzada, not so much. Director: Havana Marking. Instead, its just sort of there. These comic reversals move at the speed of tectonic plates. The selection of these people gives the film an interesting dynamic because all four hail from different parts of Afghanistan and two of them are women. Afghan Star, the TV show, is exactly what American Idol would look like if the contestants were playing for the biggest stakes imaginable: political and social freedom, gender equality, a chance to heal a country 30 years under the yokes of war and religious dictatorship. In these scenes, filmmaker Havana Marking shows a country struggling to redefine itself after decades of repression. Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star. Havana Marking: I knew the idea was brilliant and would be commissioned, but it was my first big film (I had only directed a 30 min. Then she marries one of her fans and has a baby, hoping for a measure of safety and forgiveness. Seguido por unos 11 millones de personas en todo el pas, Rafi Nabzada, Lima Sahar, Setara Hussainzada y Hamid Shakhizada compiten por conseguir su sueo, convertirse en el cantante ms famoso de Afganistn. But only a few years out of Taliban-era prohibition of music, television and dance, the unapologetic spectacle of celebrity culture in a format like Afghan Star tests the limits of how far this society is willing to go, revealing cracks in the surface of the "new" Afghanistan. And since one of the two female contestantsSetara Hussainzadais a rule breaker who goes beyond the dictates of Islamic religion (she shows her hair and dances during a performance), were given a much more potentially dangerous drama, since this results in death threats. If we didn't care about Setara--and of course, if I hadn't cared about her in the first place--the film would not be so intense or important. He is Hazara, from the centre of the country, where the Bamiyan Buddhas were blown up by the Taliban, and has an interest in traditional music. Marking lacks the sense of urgency to pull it all together. After Daoud Sediqi decided to air the footage of the show, there was an outrage in the conservative muslim community. I went to Afghanistan in January 2002, just a few months after the Taliban fled Kabul, to make a documentary for the BBC about the return of music to the capital. I am confident now that I can and do have a way of directing that works. Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed. Rating: Unrated. The best I can say is that he was a very talented and ambitious journalist who was a good friend of the president of his former company during the lawsuit. Add artwork, Do you know any background info about this album? Zulala, is one of the three remaining contestants on the show which has always seen male winners. Setara, a single woman who lives alone (something that is almost unheard of), has much to fear. To see a woman make such wonderful, beautiful and heart-filled films, be successful and still be a nice person is very inspiring. At this point I dont know if Setara Hussainzada was a good man or not. In these difficult times, one entrepreneurial broadcast company, Tolo, has inaugurated Afghan Star, . For more information, click here. The third episode of Afghan Star Season 15 featured the Ghazal auditions. In my own country, I tend to decry this kind of cheap entertainment, and there's a sense in which the reactionaries have a point when they lament the invasion of foreign culture; but they offer only regression and ignorance as an alternative. Movies. 0 current holds with 1 total copy. Find out where to watch movies online now! "If there was no music," a boy too young to remember the Taliban says at the beginning of Marking's film, "humans would be sad. Afghan Star. 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