Kabul Hosts Premier For Afghan Film –Lead Actress was Killed by Gunmen While Shooting

The “Ariana” cinema hall at the Afghan capital Kabul hosted the premier of the film “Al Sawsana Al Sawdaa” (“The Dark Sassanian”) – a film that about Afghanistan, the country where production took place.In an occasion the sort of which has not been witnessed in Afghanistan for several years, the premier was attended by hundreds of Kabul residents. The film is credited to Sonya Nasry Coll, a filmmaker of Afghan origins. Coll’s film relates the story of a single family from Kabul during the period immediately following the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Filming took place in Afghanistan under dangerous conditions - the production period took place contemporaneously to a large scale military operation. A few days before shooting was to begin armed gunmen captured the actress who was poised to assume the leading role. The gunmen later executed her in brutal fashion.The films’ producers were at a loss to find a replacement for the lead performer and Coll thus decided to assume the role herself despite the fact that she is not a professional actress. Afghanistan later nominated that production as the country’s entry for the Oscars’ foreign film category. In this regard Coll has stated that if the film was to win the Oscar then that would be a victory for her country. She also added that in her eyes she considers the simple fact that the film was screened in Kabul in front of hundreds of viewers as something equal to winning the Oscar’s.Coll further added that while shooting the title she did not place any great emphasis on war scenes but rather sought to convey the true story of a group of people hoping to realize their dreams.