Afghan Star

Event information

After 30 years of war and the Taliban’s repression, Afghan Pop Idol is taking the nation by storm. But this is more than just a TV show. In Afghanistan you risk your life to sing.
Pop culture has returned to Afghanistan. Over 2000 people are auditioning for Afghan Pop Idol and even three women have come forward to try their luck. The organisers believe they can “move people from guns to music”. But in this troubled country, even music is dangerously controversial. Many of those taking part are literally risking their lives. Yet millions of people watch the show and vote by text from their mobile phone for their favourite singers. We meet Rafi, a boy from Mazar-e-Sharif with a strong voice and a pretty face, Lima, a young woman from Kandahar who fears for her life every time she goes home, Hammeed, a young musician and classically trained singer from the Hazara ethnic group, and Setara, a controversial figure from Herat who wears the latest fashions and Bollywood make up.

Winner World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary and World Cinema Directing Award: Documentary, Sundance Film Festival 2009