Afghan Star

U / Havana Marking / 2009 / Afghan Star / UK
After 30 years of Taliban and wartime rule, pop culture is creeping back into Afghanistan. Director Havana Marking has captured it in this inspired documentary, Afghan Star. An American Idol–type contest set in Afghanistan. What more intriguing inroad into a region usually represented in our news media by death and violence? 2,000 contestants compete for a chance to be the next Afghan pop idol. Three of them are women. In an unheard-of precedent, all genders, ethnic groups, and age sectors are equal. More than one-third of the country watches the show and votes with text messages. Marking follows the dramatic stories of four of the contestants over three months, all is not safe for her subjects because they must actually risk their lives to sing. Though moving and inspiring, what is really brilliant about Afghan Star is that by observing a people's relationship to pop culture, we get a different, if not more human, look at this troubled part of the world.