Enemies of Happiness
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McGill University (Montreal)
Tuesday March 3, 2009
Screening begins 20h00
Venue: Arts W-215
Enemies of Happiness
This film is about personal courage – courage to change the world and the courage to stand in the forefront of this battle.
Eva Mulvad / Denmark / 2006 / 59 min / Dari with English subtitles
In September 2005, Afghanistan held its first parliamentary elections in 35 years. Among the candidates for 249 assembly seats was Malalai Joya, a courageous, controversial 27-year-old woman who had ignited outrage among hard-liners when she spoke out against corrupt warlords at the Grand Council of tribal elders in 2003. ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS is a revelatory portrait of this extraordinary freedom fighter and the way she won the hearts of voters, as well as a snapshot of life and politics in war-torn Afghanistan.
Amidst vivid, poetic images of Joya's dusty Farah Province, the film tracks the final weeks of her campaign, when death threats restrict her movements. But the parade of trusting constituents arriving on her doorstep leaves no doubt that Joya is a popular hero. Among her visitors is a 100-year-old woman who treks two hours to offer loyalty and herbal medicine. King Solomon-style, Joya acts as folk mediator and advocate, adjudicating between a wife and her violent, drug-addicted husband and counseling a family forced to marry off their adolescent daughter to a much older man. Protected by armed guards, Joya heads to poor rural areas to address crowds of women, pledging to be their voice and ‘expose the enemies of peace, women, and democracy.’ In the presence of her fierce tenacity, we can imagine the future of an enlightened nation.
Trailer
Credits
A film by Eva Mulvad
Co-director Anja Al-Erhayem
Editing Adam Nielsen
Cinematographer Zillah Bowes
Sound Technician Mikkel Groos
Music Thomas Knark, Jesper Skaaning, Anders Remmer
Producer Helle Faber
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Interpreter on location/2nd unit director Jamal Ahmad
Translation Mohsen Ahmadi, Mohammad Hanif
Research Anja Al-Erhayem, Laila Sylvest Jensen, Lise-Lotte Gümoes, Line Wolf Nielsen
Interpreter Mardina Parmach
Chauffeur Ali Faqir Zada
Second unit photographers Merya Fahrad Azizi, Merwais Ahmadi, Naser Sarwari
Graphics Torsten Høeg Rasmussen
Production manager Winnie Thygesen
Production assistants Thomas Byskov, Maria Månson
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Online Studios A/S
Grading Duckling
With the Support of The Danish Film Institute/Dola Bonfils, DR2/Mette Davidsen-Nielsen, The Danish Ministry of Education, The Danish Foreign Ministry, NFTF/Eva Færevaag, YLE, NRK
Produced by Bastard Film
Distribution The Danish Film Institute
Awards & Festivals
2006 Winner, Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, Silver Wolf Award
2007 Winner, Sundance Film Festival World Cinema Documentary, Grand Jury Prize
2007 Winner, Festival Films De Femmes, Best long documentary
2007 Winner, One World Media Awards, International Premier Award
2007 Winner, New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival,
Nestor Almendros Prize
2007 Winner, 15 Mostra Internacional de film de dones, Audience Mention Best Documentary
Film site & Reviews
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