A Thousand Girls Like Me
A film by Sahra Mani
The story of a young Afghan woman’s brave fight for justice after experiencing years of abuse at the hands of her father.
France/Afghanistan | 2018 | 80 minutes | Color | DVD | Order No. W181244 |
SYNOPSIS
A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME is an awe-inspiring vérité documentary that tells the story of a young Afghan woman’s brave fight to seek justice and protect her children after experiencing years of abuse at the hands of her father.
Khatera Golzad’s father physically and sexually abused her for more than thirteen years, and after several aborted pregnancies, she gave birth to a daughter and a son. Despite her many attempts to file charges, neither the Afghan police nor the legal system helped her. In 2014, she appeared on national television to publicly accuse her father, finally succeeding in bringing her case to court despite threats from male relatives and judges who labelled her a liar.
Shedding light on the broken Afghan judicial system and the women it seldom protects, A THOUSAND GIRLS LIKE ME is the story of one woman’s battle against cultural, familial, and legal pressures as she embarks on a mission to set a positive example for her daughter and other girls like her. In a country where the systematic abuse of girls is rarely discussed, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani’s film is ultimately a story of bravery, love, hope and resilience.
PRESS
"The raw, heartbreaking film shows the double threat of a broken judicial system and ingrained oppressive and sexist attitudes. But the uplifting ending offers a glimmer of hope."
"A gripping look at sexual and physical abuse, incest and societal restrictions upon women in Afghanistan"
"An extraordinary film."
SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS
- Sedona Film Festival, Best Foreign Documentary
- Full Frame Film Festival, Winner, Center for Documentary Studies Filmmaker Award
- One World Media, Feature Documentary Award
- International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
- Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
- HotDocs- International Premiere
- Sheffield Doc Festival
- Human Right Watch Festival
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Sahra Mani
Sahra Mosawi-Mani is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, university lecturer, and founder of Afghanistan Documentary House. She began working in media in 2001 with the goal of using media as a catalyst for good. She received a Masters degree in documentary filmmaking from University of the Arts London and has since focused on creating documentaries about her own country Afghanistan. Her films include Kaloo School (2013), Beyond the Burka (2014), and A Thousand Girls Like Me (2018). (08/18)
RELATED LINKS
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The New York Times
These Movies Haunted Me at the Human Rights Watch Festival
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Medium
Interview: Sahra Mani
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Free Women Writers
Interview with filmmaker Sahra Mani
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Cinema Without Borders
"A Thousand Girls Like Me” at Human Rights Watch Film Festival
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Reuters
Film tracks first Afghan woman to seek justice over incest
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Facebook Page
Connect with the film on Facebook
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The Prevention Coalition
An effort to promote the healthy development of children and end their sexual abuse
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UNICEF
Protecting Afghanistan’s most vulnerable children
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Afghan Women’s Network
The AWN works towards a discrimination free society.
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Filmmaker Sahra Mani on Twitter
Follow the filmmaker on Twitter
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Al Jazeera Review
A Thousand Girls Like Me: An Afghan Woman’s Fight Against Rape
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Free Women Writers Interview with Filmmaker Sahra Mani
"A Thousand Girls Like Me," A Film about Injustice and Overcoming
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The Guardian Review
A Thousand Girls Like Me review – a brave woman refuses to bow down
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Women and Hollywood
Full Frame 2019 Women Directors: Meet Sahra Mani - "A Thousand Girls Like Me"
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Four Wives – One Man
From Nahid Persson, the filmmaker of the award-winning Prostitution Behind the Veil, comes an intimate portrait of a polygamist family in a rural Iranian village. Persson reveals the intricacies of the relationships between the four wives, their husband, their astoundingly free-spoken mother-in-law and their numerous children. Sometimes humorous and often heartbreaking, this film follows the daily lives of the wives whose situation has turned them into both bitter rivals and co-conspirators against their abusive husband.
Persson’s camera unobtrusively and beautifully captures the range of the family’s interactions – from peaceful, pastoral scenes of a family picnic, to the temporary chaos caused by a broken faucet in the kitchen, to a furtive, whispered conversation between two wives about the latest beating. The women’s work – making bread, weaving carpets, milking and herding the sheep – provide the background to their frank conversations. Avoiding sensationalism and sentimentality, this film provides unique insights into the practice of polygamy and its effect on the women involved.
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