Do me a favor: Take a second and try to forget your assumptions about reality shows in general, and contest-based ones in particular. For the next several paragraphs, American Idol and the like are not necessarily The End Of TV As We Know It, they are not guilty pleasures, they're not culture's lowest common denominator. Try to imagine that a reality show could be heroic. Death-defying, even.
Afghan Star is an Idol-style program that pits aspiring Afghan pop stars against one another. They sing on TV, the country votes—you know the drill. What you might not know is that, until 2001, music was outlawed in Afghanistan. You might also be unaware that hardline Islamic conservatives deemed the show sacrilegious, that for many its voting system was their first experience with real democracy, and that one contestant, a 21-year-old woman from Herat named Setara, had to go into hiding after dancing a little jig on the air—there were threats on her life.
Afghan Star is no average reality show. And there's nothing average about Havana Marking's documentary, either.
Marking's film, also called Afghan Star, follows four contestants, as well as the producers and host, over the course of a season. We caught up via email with Marking on the eve of the 2009 International Documentary Awards.
Q. We were blown away by the short section on Kabul's thriving artistic and musical culture in the 70s—that could have been a film unto itself. (That lead singer's hairdo!) How aware were the producers and contestants on Afghan Star—who were infants at best back then—of what preceded them?
A. In many ways the afghan youth know more about and respect the music of previous generations than we do here: for many in exile or in Afghan during the repressive times the old music represented something wonderful and legendary—a time when things were good in Afghanistan. It reminded people constantly of the rich cultural heritage and that there was an alternative reality to what was being experienced during the wars. In 2001, when music became legal again all anyone had to play was the old music, no one had been able to record new songs for a long time. It gave people of all generations hope and faith that things could change again for the better.
Q. The opening of the film was so striking—how did you find that child? And once you had, did you know you'd found your beginning?
A. We found the little boy who opens the film by accident. We had been filming with his brothers who charge batteries for people so they could watch their TVs at night. It was tragic to see 6 and 7 year olds working in terrible conditions for $5 a month. We went home with the battery boys into one of the slum areas to meet their mother and ensure that she was happy with us filming. At their house we also met their brother—blind and essentially house bound—listening to music on the radio and learning to sing the wonderful songs. It was very very moving, but I didn't know it would start the film until a long way into the edit. I was trying to fit it into the film but it just wouldn't work with the narrative. We knew we had to use it, and my exec producer Mike Lerner had the brilliant idea to open with that scene. It summed up everything. On a more recent trip, I tried to find the family again but couldn't. The battery stall has disappeared and there is no way to trace them. I was very sad about that.
Q. Can you give us an update on the following seasons of the show? Have the number of female contestants increased? Any more Setara-esque dance performances?
A. The two male contestants are doing well and in fact Hameed has been on tour in Australia which is wonderful. Life for the women has not been so easy and in fact we have lost track of Lema. there was an article in a newspaper saying she had since fled to Pakistan, but it is impossible to know. I have seen Setara a lot—we have filmed an update with her for HBO—and she is OK but things are not easy. She got married and has had a beautiful baby but there were complications with the birth and her security is still in question. Life in Afghanistan is not easy: just giving birth is a huge risk and it has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world. Thankfully the baby has survived and for the time being she is happy. In terms of the show, yes more women have come forward to take part and the show becomes more successful every year. There has been no repeat performances of dancing however—the government banned that after Setara's actions.
Q. Can you share your thoughts on President Obama's decision this week to send 30,000 additional troops (or even more) to Afghanistan?
A. I was impressed by the thought and consideration that went into the plan and so relieved that there is not a knee jerk, single issue man at the top any longer. But I am also hugely relieved the exit strategy is not happening just yet—if we pulled out immediately it would be a betrayal of every Afghan that has supported the latest campaign (the vast majority of the population) and would create a power vacuum in this fragile and extremely vulnerable region. the last thing the world needs is a failed state in an area flanked by hard liners and nuclear weapons. Politically and ethically we need to see this war through but we do need to see it through correctly—and stop the looming blunders that seem to happen at every turn. I think Obama is on the right track but it really needs some powerful leadership from now on to ensure that Karzai cleans up his act. We can't bury our heads as we have done for so long now. By the same token we need to clean the West's act too: many contractors and security firms and even NGOs are on a gold rush there which is grotesque to witness. Corruption is on both sides of this Aid game and the innocent Afghan is victim to it all.
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