Breaking the Silence DVD
Music in Afghanistan

The Taliban's prohibition of music was the most severe in Afghanistan's history. Apart from unaccompanied chants, all music was banned and instruments were broken and burnt.

This movie documents the remarkable moment when the country was re-connected with its musical culture. Filmed in Kabul and Peshawar (Pakistan) in January 2002, two months after the fall of the Taliban, this film is an introduction to the music of Afghanistan and the way it was caught in the crossfire of conflicting regimes for 25 years.

Most poignantly, it shows the musicians of Kabul rebuilding Afghanistan's devastated musical life.

Directed by Simon Broughton, it won the documentary prize at the Golden Prague festival in 2002.

Includes:
* Sarinda-player Mashinai, forced to work as a butcher under the Taliban
* Singer Aziz Ghaznawi, who had no option but to sing for them
* Female singer Naghma, whose tapes flooded the Kabul bazaar as the Taliban fled
* Rare footage of Sufi gatherings where Islam and music fervently meet
* Ensemble Kaboul, the best of the traditional Afghan groups in exile, who formed when the very survival of Afghan music seemed under threat
* An extra DVD track of Pashtun singer Rita Wazhma's first post-Taliban TV broadcast of a women singer in spring 2004.

Simon Broughton's "remarkable film is full of poignant personal histories." - The Independent, UK

"Breaking the Silence is more than a picture. It sings!" - Farhad Darya, Afghan singer

Winner - documentary prize - Golden Prague Festival, 2002.

Format: DVD in PAL format, region code 0 (all regions)
Duration: 60 minutes.

PAL format This movie is in PAL format and is not suitable for use in France, Japan, Canada, USA and Mexico unless a multi-system player is used (since these countries use NTSC format, not PAL). For more information on multi-system players visit http://www.dvdoverseas.com and to check what system your country uses visit http://www.dvdoverseas.com/world_broadcasting.htm Region Codes DVDs contain region codes which denote the areas in the world in which they can be played. Code 0 means that DVDs can be played in all regions. For further information see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code

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