In the Room

Festival: Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF)
Genre: documentary

Main Characters: 

Nelofer Pazira-Fisk
Vida Samadzai
Sahar Parniyan
Mozhdah Jamalzadah
Shogofa Sediqi
Filmmaker Brishkay Ahmed

The Plot: Afghan women tell their story of dealing with the Afghanistan brand.

The main story lines are: How lives were changed suddenly after the September 11 terrorist attack in New York City to being banned in Afghanistan for wearing a bikini. Their mission is clear, which is beyond survival.

The best (worst) bit is about: Real personal experiences in being a public figure at best, while being questioned who you are as a person at worst. For Vida Samadzai, she cherished being a public image to help women have equal rights as the best, while encountering death threats for competing in 2003 Miss Earth as being the worst. For Sahar Parniyan, two actresses were killed for lack of Islamic values and morality at worst, while surviving after leaving the area at best. For Mozhdah Jamalzadah, the best day of her life was singing Afghan Women on International Women's Day at the White House for president Obama. The worst for Mozhdah Jamalzadah was not knowing who would react differently from all the attention and the freedom she lost for giving other women a voice. Mozhdah Jamalzadah was silenced leaving rumors of her being dead, which led her to leave the country. Mozhdah Jamalzadah realized that she was naive then trying to change people's lives and governments had their own agenda when it came to protecting her. Brishkay Ahmed stated that this [tragedy of mislabeling] could happen to any country at any time. For journalist Shogofa Sediqi, the best and worst in her was managing a team of female reporters, facing a suicide bomb attack nearby, keeping her composure, then moving forward with work. "I never wanted fear to be used against my ability to work," declared Shogofa Sediqi.

I enjoyed (I didn't enjoy) watching this film because: I am a journalist who is curious about people as a social scientist and wanted to know these women from their own mouth and identity, rather than how the media portray Afghan women. For Vida Samadzai who represented Miss Afghanistan at 2003 Miss Earth stated in the media that she wanted to "change the image of Afghan women [as being] courageous, intelligent and beautiful, not wild, vicious and uneducated." Vida Samadzai also stated that competing in pageants never gets old. "I love it," referring to Beauty for a Cause award she received for courage and commitment. Vida Samadzai hopes women around the world have equal rights. Nelofer Pazira-Fisk says Afghan women are somewhere in the middle of being a victor and a victim. Shogofa Sediqi whole being is to have peace in Afghanistan.

I would (I wouldn't) recommend this film to someone because: The documentary is based on interviews, rather than actors who act. You can feel their pain and emotions along with their aspirations. Two interviewees fell to the ground, while alone when their mental outlook was struck down. Yet, they stood back up and survive. These women are true queens who built their royalty from nothing and are risking their life to defeat evil, which is very honorable. If you want to live the life of a princess, I would follow their lead.

5 out 5 stars