Hollywood Reporter: Afghanistan has selected Roya Sadat’s drama A Letter to the President as its candidate for the best foreign-language film race at the Oscars. Roya Sadat’s drama of a female official intervening to save a woman from tribal punishment reflects harsh realities. Click here to read more (external link).
Mohammad Ahmadi VOA News July 5, 2017 A council of Shi’ite religious leaders in Bamyan province in central Afghanistan banned a local musical festival, calling it “Harram” or against Islamic law, while many other religious leaders hailed it as art and a cultural event. Local officials say that despite the disagreement with religious leaders, the
Hikmat Sorosh VOA News April 15, 2017 KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — Steeped in centuries of seemingly impenetrable tea tradition, Afghanistan’s capital is getting a little coffee buzz. Nargis Aziz Shahi says business has been increasing day by day since she opened iCafe a couple of weeks ago. Looking a little like a brick-walled Starbucks with a distinctively
Xinhua: “The endemic war has destroyed our life, you see, it is more than three decades that the flames of war have been devouring the Afghans and this country. Today my greatest wish is to see ending of the war and restoring lasting peace in Afghanistan,” said a jubilant Kabul resident Mohammad Musa. Click here to
AFP: It has withstood time, the elements, looters and war,but after at least 15 centuries buried underground, a spectacular Buddha restored and removed from one of Afghanistan’s most dangerous regions is to make its public debut in the country’s national museum. The statue, which depicts the sage in a purple shroud offering his hands to the
Hekmat Sorosh VOA News / February 23, 2017 KABUL — At 21, Shagofa Alikozay is a bright woman who isn’t far removed from childhood in Afghanistan, which she illustrates with her photos, sketches and poetry. Her goal is to bring to light the challenges, problems and miseries of living in one of the world’s poorest countries,
Fair Observer: Afghanistan’s Khorasan region is often associated with war and social conservatism, yet it has a rich history of religious tolerance and a passion for art. Whether known to be the graveyard of empires or the land of lions, Afghanistan has always been perceived as the motherland of fearless, rural fighters. Yet the view of
The Art Newspaper: A cultural centre at the Unesco World Heritage site in Afghanistan where the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas is due to open to the public in summer 2018. Construction began in September on the 2,450 sq. m building by the Argentinian firm M2R Arquitectos, which beat more than 1,000 other entrants in an
Tolo News: Afghanistan’s first and only women’s orchestra, Zohra, has been awarded the Freemuse Award 2017. The orchestra is comprised of a group of students from the National Institute of Music (ANIM) in Kabul. The Afghanistan music industry is currently facing tremendous challenges following years of oppression under the Taliban and decades of war, which has
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty January 21, 2017 Afghanistan’s first all-girl orchestra performed a concert in front of world leaders at the closing of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 20. The group of 30 musicians aged 13 to 20, known as Zohra, performed parts of Beethoven’s 9th symphony as well as popular