Kabul Cinema

[Blanche Bunnell]

Cinemawas introduced to Afghanistan at the beginning of the 20th century. Political troubles, such as the 1973 Afghan coup d'tat and the Saur Revolution slowed the industry over the years; however, numerous Pashto and Dari films have been made both inside and outside Afghanistan throughout the 20th century. The cinema of Afghanistan entered a new phase in 2001, but has failed to recover to its popular pre-war status.[1]

In Kabul, the Behzad Cinema became the first theatre in Afghanistan, and Cinema Park was also among the earliest to have been built in the 1950s. Among the most prominent cinemas in Kabul before the 1990s were the Pamir, Ariana, Aryob, Barikot and Baharestan cinemas.[4]

When the Afghan Film Organization was established in 1968, it produced documentaries and news films highlighting the official meetings and conferences of the government. All these films were shown in cinemas before feature films, which were usually from India. The first feature film made in Kabul by Afghan Film using Afghan artists was Like Eagles (1969) directed by Khair Zada.[5] Another claim to first Afghan feature is Afghan Film's three-part The Times (1970), which comprised Smugglers, Suitors and Friday Night.[6] Other films from this period, sometimes produced by other film companies and often with Russian-trained directors, included Difficult Days/Rozhai Dushwar (1974)[7],The Statues are Laughing/Mujasemeha Mekhandad (1976),[8] and Village Tunes. All of these films were shot in black and white. Film artists of this era included Toryali Shafaq, Khan Aqa Soroor, Rafeeq Saadiq, Azizullah Hadaf, Mashal Honaryar and Parvin Sanatgar.

During the late 1960s and 1970s Soviet aid included cultural training and scholarships for students interested in studying film. However, since Afghanistan had no film academy, future filmmakers had to apprentice on the job. The three civil wars of the 1990s were not conducive to creative work and many people working in the Afghan film industry escaped to Iran or Pakistan, where they were able to make videos for NGOs. The new government banned production of films in 1993.[11]

When the Taliban took power in 1996, cinemas were attacked and many films were burnt. The Taliban forbade the viewing of television and films and cinemas were closed, either becoming tea shops or restaurants or falling into a state of disrepair.[12] Habibullah Ali of Afghan Film hid thousands of films, buried underground or in hidden rooms, to prevent their destruction by the Taliban.[13] Teardrops was the first post-Taliban film in 2002, and the first film since Oruj in 1990.[14] On November 19, 2001, Bakhtar was the first cinema to re-open its doors, where thousands of people entered that day.[15]

Afghan Film also known as Afghan Film Organization (AFO) were former Afghanistan's state-run film company. It was established in 1968 and the last president was Sahraa Karimi, the first female head of the organisation.[16]

Since 2001, the cinema of Afghanistan has slowly started to re-emerge from a lengthy period of silence. Before the September 11th attacks, Afghanistan-based Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf attracted world attention to Afghanistan with Kandahar (2001). The film brought the cinema of Afghanistan to the Cannes film festival for the first time in history. Later Samira Makhmalbaf, Siddiq Barmak, Razi Mohebi, Horace Shansab, Yassamin Maleknasr and Abolfazl Jalili made a significant contribution to Dari (Persian) cinema in Afghanistan.

Barmak's first Persian/Pashto film Osama (2003) won several awards at film festivals in Cannes and London. Barmak is also director of the Afghan Children Education Movement (ACEM), an association that promotes literacy, culture and the arts, founded by Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The school trains actors and directors for the emerging cinema of Afghanistan. In 2006 Afghanistan joined the Central Asian and Southern Caucasus Film Festivals Confederation.

In the 1970s and 1980s, it was not difficult to get women to act in films. The war and the Taliban rule changed the situation, but they now are increasingly represented in the cinema of Afghanistan. Actresses like Leena Alam, Amina Jafari, Saba Sahar (now also a director) and Marina Gulbahari have emerged over the last decade.

Apart from cinema in Persian, Pashto cinema is also flourishing in Afghanistan. Several Pashto language films have been made since the fall of the Taliban, including some by foreigners like Good Morning Afghanistan (2003) by Camilla Nielsson.[17]

Kabullywood (2017) is a comedy-drama directed by Louis Meunier that was shot entirely in Kabul. As part of the movie, Meunier crowdfunded the renovation of the once-prosperous Aryub Cinema in the city, but without it opening as planned.[18]

The public cinema industry has not managed to recover, with many cinemas in Kabul either falling into disrepair or attracting low numbers of customers.[19] The issue reached national attention at the end of 2020 when the municipality decided to demolish the neglected but historic Cinema Park, sparking protests by activists.[20]

There are a number of films produced both inside and outside Afghanistan that are considered B-movies due to the low production quality and audience reach. These films are targeted mainly at an Afghan audience and rarely make it to the non-Afghan audiences or the international film festivals.

Zolykha's Secret (2007; Rahze Zolykha in Persian) is also among the first feature films from post-Taliban Afghanistan, which played to full houses at major film festivals. The film's director, Horace Ahmad Shansab, trained young Afghan filmmakers and made the film entirely on location in Afghanistan.

Emaan (2010) was screened at Reading Cinemas in Australia. This is the first time an Afghan film has been screened at Reading. It was the winner of 2011 South Asian Film Festival in Canberra for Best Story and Best Film.

Documentaries have been made in Afghanistan since the Taliban, most notably 16 Days in Afghanistan by Mithaq Kazimi and Postcards from Tora Bora by Wazhmah Osman.The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, a documentary shot by award-winning British director Phil Grabsky was released in 2001 and went on to win awards worldwide.There is also a monthly magazine, Theme, that is published by Afghan Cinema Club that focuses on Afghan and international cinema.[29]

The moment we got into the Ariana I was just blown away. It was incredible. It was a gift, really, the place itself. The way the light fell, the colors, its dark corners, its shadows. But there was also the story that was unfolding inside the cinema: Its 20 or so employees were still turning up and doing their shifts, unsure if they would get paid or if the cinema would ever re-open.

It was difficult in the beginning. The staff were all very proud of the place and their jobs. They were eager to share their stories. But because of that, and there being so little for them to actually do, they were very aware of my presence. It was immediately obvious that it would take time to make them feel comfortable.

I started by shooting portraits, thinking that I could get the guys to feel more relaxed around the camera. Ultimately I spent something like six days in the cinema, spread over a longer period. The more time I spent there, the more I got to understand life in the Ariana, and slowly it gave me more of a sense of the place, of how it really functioned.

I photographed at a spa near Mosul, in Iraq, back in 2017. Soldiers would relax there during breaks from fighting Islamic State. It is the same core interest with this project: How do people carry these extraordinary circumstances on their backs? How do they manage to carry on with their lives in some way?

Asita Ferdous, director of the government-owned Ariana Cinema in Kabul, Afghanistan, sits at home, nearly three months after the Taliban ordered female government employees to stay away from their workplaces.

A staff member walks through empty hallways at the Ariana Cinema in Kabul, Afghanistan. Even though the Taliban closed the government-owned cinema a few months earlier, the staff still arrive for work daily, in the hope they will eventually be paid.

As with other local landmarks, the cinema was destroyed during the Battle of Kabul (1992-96) and remained closed and damaged after the Taliban came to power in 1996. After the fall of Taliban, a group of French filmmakers raised $ 1 million to help complete the cinema. During a visit to Kabul in 2002, Bernard-Henri Lvy met with Siddiq Barmak to discuss the reconstruction of the cinema. On his return to Paris, he co-founded an association to raise funds for the project with Claude Lelouch and Bosnian Danis Tanović, The 'Un Cinema pour Kaboul' association in Paris. In collaboration with the AINA in Kabul, they completed the reconstruction of the Cinema in March 2004. [3][4] The renovation and new facilities was done with the help of Siddiq Barmak.

As of 2020 it remains one of four cinemas still operating in Kabul and it receives about 200 spectators of 600 available, reflecting the decline of cinema of Afghanistan.[1] Ariana Cinema was active before the fall of Kabul on August 15, 2021,[5] with its current status unknown.

Gul Mohammed, who works as a host in the Ariana Cinema, poses for a photograph in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. After seizing power three months ago, the Taliban ordered cinemas to stop operating.(AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

A vase with fake roses stands inside the ticket office of the Ariana Cinema in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. After recapturing power three months ago, the Taliban ordered cinemas to stop operating.(AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

Empty seats are seen inside the Ariana Cinema in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. After seizing power three months ago, the Taliban ordered cinemas to stop operating. (AP Photo/Bram Janssen)

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