Hava, Maryam, Ayesha(HKAFF 2021)
The first fictional feature by Sahraa Karimi, a documentary filmmaker and president of the state-owned Afghan Film Organisation, is named after its three heroines. Hava is a heavily pregnant woman who is forced by her husband and father-in-law to carry on with household tasks despite her condition. Maryam is a strong-willed and progressive TV news anchor who is facing divorce from her unfaithful husband. Ayesha is an 18-year-old girl who has been arranged to marry her cousin, despite already being in a loving relationship. Karimi weaves these three narratives together into a topical, enlightening and impressive character drama that counts Angelina Jolie as one of its biggest supporters.

Screen with:《Three Songs for Benazir》
Language: Pashto, Dari(English Subtitles)
Category: I
Duration: 22 Mins
Director: Elizabeth Mirzaei, Gulistan Mirzaei
Artist: --
Story: Young man Shaista is newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul, Afghanistan. Despite the abhorrent living conditions at the camp, the newlyweds make the best of their life together as Shaista tries to balance provid-ing for his family with fulfilling his dream of being the first of his tribe to join the Afghan National Army. Set against the 20-year civil war and the impending withdrawal of the US army from Afghanistan, Gulistan and Elizabeth Mirzaei’s documentary sets out to depict a different side of Afghanistan — not as a war zone but as the home of ordinary people leading normal lives and falling in love despite their country’s circumstances.
Director
Sahraa Karimi
Cast
Arezoo Ariapoor, Fereshta Afshar, Hasiba Ebrahimi
Release Date
30-10-2021
Language
Persian, Dari
Run Time
108 minutes
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