When Afghan-Canadian director Nelofer Pazira returns to Bamiyan, Afganistan for the screening of the award-winning film she collaborated on, The Giant Buddhas, she is shocked to see a crowd of 2,000, and astonished that many are women. Inspired, she decides to audition locals for a film. The men are eager, enthusiastically laughing and dying on command. The women are intrigued, but reticent, fearing retribution. When they do perform, it is with riveting authenticity. Pazira asks the men and women pointed questions, challenging their preconceptions and renegotiating the balance of power and control. Equal parts fascinating cultural intervention, exploration of the camera’s gaze, and homage to Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s ethically complex Salaam Cinema (Pazira starred in his film, Kandahar, loosely based on her story), this multilayered excavation of a society straddling two worlds uses cinema as a mirror to reflect the underlying tensions between power, tradition, ethics, and honour. Gisèle Gordon.

Credits

Director(s) : Nelofer Pazira
Producer(s) : Nelofer Pazira, Sarah Elton
Cinematographer(s) : Ghulam Reza Mohammadi
Editor(s) : Joel Roff
Composers(s) : Stephen Skratt, Chris Church

Subjects

Audition deals with the following subjects: Afghani Cultures & Issues, Films & Filmmakers, Religion & Spirituality, Rural Life, Sociology, Women’s Issues

Screenings

4:45 pm Sat, May 2
Isabel Bader Theatre

7:15 pm Sat, May 9
Isabel Bader Theatre