Cinema
Some Afghanland Movie Review
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Music
Since the 1980s, Afghanistan has been involved in near constant violence. As such, music has been suppressed and recording for outsiders minimal, despite a rich musical heritage.
During the 1990s, the post-Soviet and Taliban governments banned instrumental music and much public music-making. In spite of arrests and destruction of musical instruments, musicians have continued to ply their trade into the present. Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Heart, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country. Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Persian and Pashto.
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Refugee TV
See www.refugeetv.com/
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Theatre
Shakespeare play staged in Kabul
A production of Love's Labour's Lost, set in Afghanistan and translated into the Dari language, has played to packed audiences in the capital city, Kabul.
The William Shakespeare play is one of the first to be staged in the country since the fall of the Taleban in 2001. "Theatre is much more popular than television," said Afghan playwright Aziz Elyas. "But during the Taleban's time it wasn't allowed." The show, which ran for five nights, was sponsored by the British Council. "It's a story about the survival of romantic love in difficult circumstances, like in Muslim countries and especially Afghanistan," said its representative, Malcolm Jardine.
Theatre is making a comeback in the land-locked country according to Aziz, whose latest work History is Witness won first prize at this week's Kabul Theatre Summer Festival. "There's starting to be more and more shows being put on now," he said. "It's wonderful."
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Afghan Council UK's Team meet Farhad Darya
Secretary - Miss Mariam Azizi and Development Programme Manager - Miss Hila Mayvand meet award winning singer, composer and Peace & Rights Activist Farhad Darya.
From left to right: Hila Mayvand, Farhad Darya and Mariam Azizi
Farhad Darya is extremely talented and one of the most influential musicians on the Afghan Music scene, my favourite songs by Farhad darya would be 'Atan' and 'Salaam Afghanistan', it was great to meet him. - Miss Mariam Azizi
I was very happy to meet Farhad Darya, he is extremely talented and an idol to the Afghan Community. - Miss Hila Mayvand
Fashion
Afghanistan has played host to its first fashion show in decades, with models displaying designer garments at a hotel in the capital, Kabul.
Models wore head scarves during the show
The show, which made the news on Afghanistan's Tolo TV channel, attracted an audience of expatriates and well-to-do Afghans. Clothes made from Afghan textiles, including fashion burqas, were shown off by non-Afghan models to the accompaniment of traditional local music.
Organisers said they did not want to court controversy by using models from the conservative Muslim country. The Taleban, who ruled the country in the 1990s before being ousted in 2001, enforced laws requiring women to cover themselves from head to toe. Nearly five years after the Taleban's fall, many Afghan women still choose to cover up completely when in public.
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