Afghan Marathon

Territoires cinématographiques is a dialogue between live performance and cinema, devised in collaboration with Utopia cinemas in Avignon. It’s a daily programme of film screenings, after which the public meet and talk with theatre artists, choreographers, filmmakers, activists, critics and journalists invited to the Festival d’Avignon. This space explores the intimate relationships that these guests maintain between disciplines and with the world. It’s a place to take a broader look at the themes brought to the stage, the territories of the guest language and by the Café des idées. 

A letter to the president

By Roya Sadat // Afghanistan // Drama // 2017 // 1h23 // Original version with French subtitles (VOSTFR)

Soraya, a low-level government official, is imprisoned when she defends a woman from village lords. Behind bars, she writes the Afghan President for help. 

Sima’s Song 

By Roya Sadat // Spain - Netherlands - France // Drama // 2024 // 1h37 // Original version with French subtitles (VOSTFR)

Suraya, a communist, Sima, a conservative - whose friendship endures despite radically opposing political views. 

Inside Kaboul

By Caroline Gillet // France // Short film // 2024 // 29min

Inside Kabul follows Marwa and Raha, two friends living in Kabul. When the country fell to the Taliban they began sending voice messages to their friend, journalist. 

The Orphanage 

By Shahrbanoo Sadat // Afghanistan // Drama // 2019 // 1h30 // Original version with subtitles (VOST)

A 15-year-old ticket scalper in Kabul dreams of Bollywood until the Soviets force him into a state facility. 

The Swallows of Kabul 

By Zabou Breitman // France // Animation // 2019 // 1h21

Summer 1998, Kabul in ruins is occupied by the Taliban. In love despite the daily violence and misery, Mohsen and Zunaira want to believe in the future. But a senseless act by Mohsen will upset their lives forever.

Wolf and Sheep

By Shahrbanoo Sadat // Afghanistan // Drama // 2016 // 1h26 // Original version with French subtitles (VOSTFR)

Based upon unpublished diaries, the film assumes the role of an anthropologist observing remote shepherd communities in Afghanistan where wolves and sheep have equal importance.  

Writting Hawa

By Najiba Noori // France - Netherlands // Documentary // 2024 // 84min // Original version with French subtitles (VOSTFR)

A 52-year-old Hazara woman, Hawa, embarks on a journey of self-emancipation after an arranged marriage, educating herself, starting a textile business, until their lives are disrupted by the Taliban's resurgence in 2021. 

Kamay

By Ilyas Yourish // Afghanistan // Documentary // 2024 // 1h46 // Original version with French subtitles (VOSTFR)

In Afghanistan's mountains, a Hazara family investigates their daughter Zahra's mysterious death after she moved to Kabul for studies, exploring the truth behind her tragic demise amid ethnic oppression.