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Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar, Fayez Hameed, Setara Hussainzada, Hameed Sakhizada

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 1996, among their many edicts was banning popular music, considering it a corrupting and sacrilegious influence. Though Taliban was swept from power in ... read more read more...2001, Islamic militants still regard music as sinful and have targeted Afghan musicians in assassination plots. Into this repressive culture comes a television show that has taken Afghanistan by storm -- Afghan Star, a talent search modeled after American Idol in which aspiring singers perform for the viewing audience and either advance in the ranks or are dropped from the competition based on votes cast by telephone. In a nation where both free democracy and pop music are both novel and risky concepts, Afghan Star's popularity is a bona fide phenomenon, and filmmaker Havana Marking explores both the competition and its effect on Afghan society in the documentary Afghan Star. Marking examines the show's audience -- it's estimated that a third of the nation watches it regularly -- as well as several top contestants, including would-be teen-pop sensation Rafi; Hammeed, a singer who is seen as a champion and role model by fellow members of the Hazara people; Lima, who was born and raised in a community of Islamic fundamentalists and must hide her identity for the safety of her family; and Setara, an attractive woman who defies convention by wearing American-style clothes and makeup, moving to the music on-stage, and even abandoning her head scarf during a performance, making her a hero to youngsters and a pariah to their parents (as well as Islamic conservatives). Afghan Star was an official selection at the 2008 Sheffield International Documentary Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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69% liked it

6,823 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

60 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Havana Marking

Release Date: June 26, 2009

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DVD Release Date: March 30, 2010

Stats: 188 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (188)

  • Tomassgringo
    August 11, 2010
    Tomassgringo
    Interesting to see how a knock off of a western television show is made in a country with such strict laws regarding music, dance and even television in general make everything more difficult. What I enjoyed seeing most was how some people live with the fear instead of backing d... read moreown on their "progressive" ideas. Americans need to be reminded how lucky we are and even what we are fighting for when we try to expand democracy. They feel voting for a singer is exercising democracy, but also live with fear they can lose their favorite new tv show at the same time.
  • gator681
    March 9, 2011
    gator681
    As televisions make a return to Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban, so too should remote controls that can change the channel, so those easily offended can watch something else and mind their business, especially as it concerns the musical competition, Afghan Star, where t... read morehe winner gets $5,000. "Afghan Star" follows four of the finalists, Hameed, Rafi, Lima and Setara, who is also the most outspoken of the group, on and off stage to get a sense of how the contest is affecting their own lives and any resistance they face. Now, a singing competition might on the surface seem like a strange place to explore the changing state of freedoms in the country, but with any nation emerging from a repressive state, there has to be a first step(in this case, it is a dance step). In other times and places, it has been artists like Elvis Presley and Pedro Almodovar that led the charge.

    So, while I agree with this moderately entertaining and insightful documentary that this television show where men and women occupy the same stage can lead to inspiring greater freedom, other conclusions concerning democracy and unity I am less sure of. While the contestants do run political style campaigns, this really should not be confused with the ballot box. Also, I bet that each ethnic group votes for their own primarily.
  • reelinspiration
    August 1, 2011
    reelinspiration
    Afghan version of American Idol. A female contestant risks her life to express the human spirit through dance.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Curiel
August 21, 2009
Jonathan Curiel, San Francisco Chronicle

Like The Kite Runner novel and movie, the documentary Afghan Star succeeds at dramatizing the lives of Afghans, but those we see on screen are real flesh-and-blood characters -- people who let their t... Full Review

Ty Burr
July 30, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

One of the most hopeful and heart-rending movies I've seen this year. Full Review

Kenneth Turan
July 24, 2009
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

This eye-opening film reveals that even systems as dubious as the Idol format mean dramatically different things when transferred to radically dissimilar cultures. Full Review

Steven Rea
July 23, 2009
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Havana Marking's excellent, illuminating film follows four Afghan Star finalists over the frenetic final months leading to the Moment of Truth. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
July 17, 2009
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

In its vivid, suspenseful depiction of a high-stakes competition for prize money and the honor of being named Afghanistan's top singer, Afghan Star goes much deeper. Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
June 29, 2009
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

If you think American Idol is a cultural phenomenon here, imagine its impact on a country devastated by 30 years of internal strife, religious intolerance, civil war and foreign invasion. Full Review

Ben Lyons
June 29, 2009
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

This is about an Afghan culture that is at a real turning point. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
June 26, 2009
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

British filmmaker Havana Marking's entertaining first feature documentary. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
June 26, 2009
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

Fascinating and, when you see Afghan versions of Simon Cowell and Co. reacting to tryouts, a reminder of how fame and the thirst for it is the same in any language. Full Review

Stephen Holden
June 26, 2009
Stephen Holden, New York Times

The movie uses the talent show Afghan Star as a prism through which to examine the fragmented tribal culture of Afghanistan as reflected in the backgrounds of four finalists (two of them women) and th... Full Review

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