Film screening & film talk
The Forbidden Reel

Director: Ariel Nasr

Sat, 01.07.2023
5:00 PM ACUDkino

Canada, 2019, 119 min, documentary, languages: Dari, English, with English subtitles
Director: Ariel Nasr

Afghanistan in the second half of the 20th century is characterized by oppression and violence. In his documentary "The forbidden reel," Afghan-Canadian filmmaker Ariel Nasr chooses the perspective of Afghan film history to approach these contexts of contemporary history. In addition to numerous interviews with film historian Mariam Ghani, filmmakers Latif Ahmadi and Siddiq Barmak, actress Yasmin Yarmal and other key figures, he shows film clips from the archives of the national film institute Afghan Film. They provide a glimpse into a rich culture during a time when the country experienced many drastic changes, from the communist regime to the war with Russia to the oppression of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban.
"The Forbidden Reel" impressively illustrates how valuable cinema is, not only as an artistic expression or factual report, but also as a means to better understand one's own history and culture.
Trailer
After the film, there will be a discussion with the director of the film (joining digitally) and one of the protagonists, Latif Ahmadi (present physically).

© Kiana Hayeri

Ariel Nasr is a director and producer at the Quebec Atlantic Studio of the National Film Board of Canada. Before directing and co-producing the award-winning film "The Forbidden Reel", he produced the Academy Award-nominated independent short drama "Buzkashi Boys" (2012). His directing credits include the Canadian Screen Award-winning film "The Boxing Girls of Kabul" (2011) and "Good Morning Kandahar" (2008) and the interactive documentary "Kabul Portraits" (2015). Other recent works include his documentary “La Mosquée”, which documents the aftermath of the Quebec City mosque shooting. Ariel Nasr, who holds Canadian, Afghan and US citizenship, lives and works in Montreal.

Abdul Latif Ahmadi is an Afghan film director, also known as Engineer Latif Ahmadi. He co-founded Afghanistan's first private film production company, Ariana Films (along with Toryalai Shafaq and Juwansher Haidary), and became president of Afghan Film, the Afghan state film company. As head of Afghan Film, he has supported many of the recent films produced in Afghanistan such as "Buzkashi Boys", "The Black Tulip" and "The Kite Runner" and has traveled the world promoting Afghan cinema to a wide audience.