Earlier this year I was struck by the courage of Ibrahim Nash’at, whose gripping documentary Hollywoodgate followed key members of the Taliban as they re-entered Kabul, occupying a former CIA base after the withdrawal of US troops. But gutsy as Nash’at and his team undeniably were, their bravery pales next to that of film-maker Sahra Mani and the Afghan women who are the subjects of Bread & Roses.
Shot during a similar period to that of Hollywoodgate, using guerilla techniques and phone cameras, Mani’s film charts the rise of the Taliban through the eyes of the female activists as they campaign to retain their basic rights. Their chants for “bread, work and education” give a sense of how much has been stripped from women in Afghanistan. Banned from working, with girls’ schools shuttered, they feel the brunt of the economic crash triggered by the Taliban’s financially illiterate fundamentalism. The extreme risks faced by the protesters become depressingly clear as several, including spirited dentist Zahra, are abducted by Taliban forces, while others flee the country. Powerful and enraging.
