BFI London Film Festival: Frame by Frame

BFI London Film Festival: 238 films. From 71 countries. 16 cinemas. 12 days. One Festival.

This documentary shows Afghanistan as you have never seen it – through the lenses of Afghans themselves. While the Taliban ruled photography was a crime. Since their fall a media revolution has begun. A fledgling free press has emerged, although with the withdrawal of foreign troops it has had to face dangerous, often lethal, challenges on the ground.

Debut directors Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli follow four courageous Afghan photojournalists—Najibullah Musafer and Wakil Kohsar, and husband-and-wife team Massoud Hossaini and Farzana Wahidy—as they strive to reclaim their country’s identity lost through decades of war, violence and oppression. Employing skilfully assembled vérité footage, interviews, photojournalism and previously unseen archival footage, secretly shot during the Taliban regime, the photographers’ commitment, camaraderie and investigative drive shine through. Their collective eye for unexpected beauty reframes Afghanistan for themselves, the world and the future.

(Noted by Christine Bardsley)

Frame by Frame, dir. Alexandria Bombach, Afghanistan 2015, 85 mins.