Following the withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Afghanistan on 30 August 2021, Bread and Roses is a documentary that offers a window into the seismic impact that the fall of Kabul to the Taliban in 2021 had on women’s rights and livelihoods. The documentary film follows three women in real time as they fight to recover their autonomy.
Featured in the film, which debuted at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, are Masoud Sekhavatdoust, Hayedeh Safiyari, Abdul Sami Murtaza and Marie Mavati.
Release Date
Directed by Sahra Mani, Bread and Roses will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on November 22, 2024.
Synopsis
The documentary shows the effects of the 2021 Taliban offensive that ended two decades of the War in Afghanistan. As American occupation ended and the Taliban gained further control, women lost the rights to education past sixth grade, work, and walking unaccompanied in public. It follows three women. Sharifa, formerly a government employee, is reduced to a tedious life indoors. Zahra, a dentist made to stop working, begins organizing activists in her former practice; she is arrested and tortured. Taranom is exiled for her activism and becomes a Pakistani refugee. The documentary shows safe houses for women fleeing to Pakistan. Women protest the closing of schools, chanting for “work, bread and education”, and water cannons and tear gas are used against them.
“Closing girls’ schools in Afghanistan is not just a matter of feminist concern; rather, it is a matter of international security,” said director and producer Sahra Mani. “The Taliban recognizes that the children of educated mothers are difficult to indoctrinate and are less susceptible to becoming their future soldiers. Ensuring that girls’ schools remain open in Afghanistan is crucial for the preservation and safety of our entire world.”
The film is produced by Excellent Cadaver’s (“Causeway”) Jennifer Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi, alongside Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights advocate and executive producer Malala Yousafzai’s (“Joyland”) production company Extracurricular, and renowned director Sahra Mani (“A Thousand Girls Like Me”).
Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for Bread and Roses.