Release CalendarDVD & Blu-ray ReleasesTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsIn TheatersComing SoonMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersEmmysLGBTQ+ Pride MonthSTARmeter AwardsSan Diego Comic-ConNew York Comic-ConSundance Film FestivalToronto Int'l Film FestivalAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Afghan Star

  • 20092009
  • UnratedUnrated
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
998
YOUR RATING
Afghan Star (2009)
A look at how contestants on the a musical contest program "Pop Idol" in Afghanistan risk their lives to appear on the show.
Play trailer2:44
1 Video
2 Photos
  • Documentary
  • Music
A look at how contestants on the a musical contest program "Pop Idol" in Afghanistan risk their lives to appear on the show.A look at how contestants on the a musical contest program "Pop Idol" in Afghanistan risk their lives to appear on the show.A look at how contestants on the a musical contest program "Pop Idol" in Afghanistan risk their lives to appear on the show.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
998
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Havana Marking
  • Stars
    • Habib Amiri
    • Setara Hussainzada
    • Rafi Naabzada
Top credits
  • Director
    • Havana Marking
  • Stars
    • Habib Amiri
    • Setara Hussainzada
    • Rafi Naabzada
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 12User reviews
    • 42Critic reviews
    • 78Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 3 nominations

    Videos1

    Afghan Star
    Trailer 2:44
    Afghan Star

    Photos

    Afghan Star (2009)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Habib Amiri
    • Self
    Setara Hussainzada
    • Self
    Rafi Naabzada
    • Self
    Lima Sahar
    • Self
    • (as Lema Sahar)
    Hameed Sakhizada
    • Self
    Massoud Sanjer
    • Self
    Daoud Sediqi
    • Self
    Tahir Shaqi
    • Self
    Fazl Hadi Shinwari
    • Self
    • Director
      • Havana Marking
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star
    5.1
    Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star
    Vores lykkes fjender
    7.5
    Vores lykkes fjender
    An Education
    7.3
    An Education
    The Hangover
    7.7
    The Hangover

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      United Kingdom's official submission to 82nd Academy Award's Foreign Language in 2010.
    • Quotes

      Man in the street: [after Setara adds dance moves to her song] She should be killed.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Silencing the Song: An Afghan Fallen Star (2011)

    User reviews12

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Democracy and the near freedom to express oneself through song and dance are studiously observed in this fascinating, Afghan-set documentary.
    I'd imagine everybody stands somewhere in relation to reality TV shows. For Britain, the experiment that was the first series of Big Brother back in 2000 eventually gave way to a plethora of various reality programmes of varying sorts covering varying ground. For some, they can be torturous; for others, they are most probably the highlight of one's week. For those whom partake, they can lead onto serious amounts of either fame or infamy, but love them; loathe them or feel utterly nonplussed about them, rest assured there are certain editions of such shows that mean and affect so much to so many, thousands of miles away. British produced 2009 documentary Afghan Star is a looking in at precisely this scenario, a documentary covering a stretch of time zeroing in on those both in front and behind the camera; both those working on the show and thousands of fans around the nation of Afghanistan looking on via their televisions. It is a really enjoyable, positively eye opening piece those involved should be proud of.

    The events told within unfold in the aftermath of the dissipation of Taliban rule. Under such a dictatorship, not only was television banned but music as a whole as well as the engaging in singing and dancing additionally prohibited. What Afghan Star is, is the combination of each of these things so as to produce the Afghan "X Factor" or the Afghan "American Idol"; the encouraging of a nation to flock to their TV's, if not already turning up at various auditions, to sing and to engage in music and, arguably most notably of all, to vote under free and democratic conditions for their favourite act. The film, from Havana Marking and company, is a capturing of what unravels both on and around this show; a exploration of the trials, tribulations and rather fetching events that come with the indulging in new order activity.

    Applications appear open to anyone; those whom journey to the show are of varying internal tribal sorts and are of both male and female genders of varying ages. Their stage appears simple to us, but an array of multi-coloured lights and lasers on an elevated platform in front of a blank white screen is enough to set the scene for the expressing of one's emotions within one's voice and, fleetingly, have a nation's eyes upon them. Every episode, host Daoud Sediqi comes on and whips the crowd into a post-liberation infused frenzy of shouting and chanting at the prospect of seeing those scheduled for the evening's show. One male contestant whom caught my attention spoke of his desire to be a singer within the classical genre, and what was even more interesting was that he was willing to give all of that up if it meant a career in popular music: a self confessed bowing to audience demand and what is much more popular if needs be. Primarily, the thought of a young Afghan man living in whatever conditions he inhabits under the sort of regime that he did, but yearning to be some kind of tenor, is quite fascinating; the documentary then going on to capture the impact that the beliefs of the Western world have implemented through their presence when the man talks of bowing to a commodity audiences demand if needs be.

    Havana Marking does well in her cutting to and from both the contestants and those in charge with producing the programme, the editing and airing of which brings about several issues later on. Her documentary film will come to cover that of Hameed Sakhizada; Setara Hussainzada; Rafi Naabzada and Lema Sahar, for they come to resemble the final four left in the competition. The final segment, of which, is dominated by a very particular event executed in the heat of the moment and going on to spawn hatred and disbelief amongst many Afghan's. Earlier on in the piece, Marking makes us aware of the power that the show has in terms of its contestants sexuality and the manner in which onlookers might perceive those appearing. Where younger teenage girls in a family of so-many occupying an as basics-as-you-like dwelling observe a male contestant, and find him glamorous; alluring and attractive, the shoe on the other foot can only cause moral outrage and bemusement as particular female singer Setara Hussainzada dances prior to being ejected and thus, breaks Islamic public order law.

    It's here Harking's film takes on another guise altogether; the dangers of chasing fame and the question as to whether Western and Islamic cultures can co-exist, or even meld together, in the first place. Where a bomb scare early on in the documentary whilst everyone was at the TV studio is one item, perhaps aimed at the show or perhaps at something else altogether, the event raises the question as to whether embracing these things that past rulings so fervently rejected can, in fact, be hybridised with newer, fresher ideals more linked to sociological and cultural orientated items. Harking keeps everything cinematic. Grounded, but cinematic. Her shooting of the dusty Afghan desert to a chorus of trumpets recalls Spaghetti Westerns of old as the final result between the last two nears, that sense of a showdown looming prominent. The dancing event puts things in perspective; my own mind darting back to a performance from a few years ago during a cinematically themed night on a musical talent show presenting to us a troupé of young women belting out a Moulin Rouge number in full, Burlesque garb. More recently, during the live final of ITV's 2010 "X Factor" show, I doubt Christina Aguilera would have been able to do much in the way of avoiding the wrath of the locals had her antics been entertaining that of a Kabul based nightspot; her performance most certainly going on to render both the stage and her presence nothing more but a firing line of missiles and hatred. In essence, it is quite the remarkable little documentary.
    helpful•1
    0
    • johnnyboyz
    • Dec 30, 2010

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 16, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Pashtu
      • Dari
    • Also known as
      • Афганська зірка
    • Filming locations
      • Afghanistan
    • Production companies
      • Aria Productions
      • Roast Beef Productions
      • Redstart Media
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $102,115
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $3,671
      • Jun 28, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $112,909
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Afghan Star (2009)
    Top Gap
    By what name was Afghan Star (2009) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    View list
    List
    The Best Movies and Shows to Watch in July
    See the full list
    View image
    Photos
    Hollywood Romances: Our Favorite Couples
    See the full list

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Interest-Based Ads
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2022 by IMDb.com, Inc.