Alka Sadat Director of Half Value Life (Afghanistan)

Why did you start making documentaries?

My dream was to become a journalist but during the Taliban’s reign, girls were not permitted to go to school. I had never watched any documentary film, but when I was 17, in 2003, I got the chance to make my first short documentary. Since then, I have liked shooting real things. It is extremely useful for Afghan women to shoot their daily life problems, and above all, the way to correct them.

Do you make fiction films too?

Yes, I have made a short film called We are all postmodern, about a young boy expressing his feelings - without speaking - to a young girl with a burka. And I am now finishing the editing of two other films: a comedy about family matters, and another about children. We have a lot of problems here in Afghanistan because we don’t have any kind of family law. The government should help us fix this, but it is very difficult now. It’s for this reason that I do prefer to make documentaries instead of fictions, in order to talk in the best way possible about real social problems in Afghanistan.

Are your documentaries available in your country?

It is possible to screen them in public places like at festivals, but they are forbidden on TV.

I can imagine how it would be hard to produce films currently. Is this the reason you and your sister decided to create a production company?

Yes, it is very hard to find and get money here. It is better to have some international help with co-productions, for instance.

Are there other independent production companies in Afghanistan?

We are not the only ones, there are more production companies working here - but mostly with foreign people working for them. Very few are Afghan companies.

Do you plan to keep working in Afghanistan, or do you wish to travel and work in other countries too?

When I was staying at Fabrica, the Benetton Group Communications Research Center in Italy, I met a lot of people from different countries and I learnt a lot of things. I have kept very happy memories of this time. So yes, my dream is to work in other countries too one day, not only Afghanistan…

By Lydia Castellano