SYNOPSIS

In Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, a woman walks into a chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full-body veil and face an uncertain future.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

As an Afghan filmmaker, I am deeply committed to sharing stories and perspectives from my country with a wider audience. The recent decrees passed by the Taliban restricting the freedoms of Afghan women have particularly motivated me to use my voice and platform to shed light on this important issue. The inspiration for Yellow came to me in May 2022 when the Taliban issued a new mandate requiring all Afghan women to wear the Chadari, the well-known full bodied blue burqa that was the dress code for women during the Taliban’s first regime in 1996. This decision has significantly impacted the lives of Afghan women, and I felt a strong desire to explore and bring attention to this through my film. There is a generation of young Afghan women who have never had to wear the Chadari, as they were born after the US led invasion in 2000. However, the Taliban’s recent decree has changed this, and these young women now not only have to purchase and learn how to wear the Chadari, but also confront the limitations and oppression that it represents. Yellow aims to shed light on the struggles of Afghan women, who have endured numerous regime changes and have often been made to feel invisible. This is the central premise of my short film, which is about Laili, a young Afghan woman, who walks into a Chadari shop to buy her first veil and face a new future as a woman in Afghanistan. During pre-production, Yiannis, the Director of Photography and I spent three weeks carefully planning every shot in a way that would effectively convey the presence of the Chadari, that serves as a symbol of the forces of oppression that Afghan women constantly face. We incorporated this symbolism into our framing, production design, and costume choices, using the dark blues of the Chadari to contrast with the light, innocent colours of Laili, the film’s protagonist, who is confronted with her grim, limited new future. I made this film to bring awareness to the struggles faced by Afghan women and to inspire change. Through powerful cinematography and compelling storytelling, I hope to ignite a conversation about the ongoing fight for women’s rights in Afghanistan.