The Black Tulip (2010)

The Mansouri family opens up a new restaurant after the fall of the Taliban in Kabul, Afghanistan only to be subsequently targeted by factional Taliban elements.

Director:

Sonia Nassery Cole

Writers:

Sonia Nassery Cole, David Michael O'Neill

Stars:

Haji Gul Aser, Sonia Nassery Cole, Leo Solomon

7 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Haji Gul Aser	...	Hadar Mansouri
Sonia Nassery Cole	...	Farishta Mansouri
Leo Solomon	...	Akram Zabuli (as Walid Amini)
Somajia Razaya	...	Belkis Mansouri
Hosna Tanha	...	Bobo Jan
Basir Mujaheed	...	Amanullah
Karim Jaweed	...	Omar Zabuli
Sadaf Yarmal	...	Satara Mansouri
Jack Scalia	...	Colonel Williams
Edoardo Costa	...	Colonel Tanelli
Payenda Joyenda	...	Gul (Old Waiter)
Asadullah Salehi	...	Officer Raheem
Adeda Frotan	...	Parween
Shafi Sahel	...	Old Afghan Poet
Masi Norry	...	Farouk

Storyline

When Taliban authorities deny the turning over of Osama Bin Laden post 911, U.S. Forces rout their leadership from Kabul and free its Afghan citizens from the brutal grip of spiritual henchman Mullah Mohammed Omar and that of his dark-age Sharia led leadership. Seizing upon this new and volatile window of freedom, matriarch Farishta Mansouri along with her husband Hadar normalize their family's efforts by turning her deceased father's Soviet destroyed bookstore into a restaurant. A place of hope called "The Poet's Corner" along with an open microphone, a small stage and an invitation for all Afghans to read their poetry, voice is now given to the voiceless. Both men and women now have a safe, equal and inviting place to tell their stories and to sing their songs. But like a lightening rod, these new voices of freedom attract the darkest, lingering factional Taliban elements who then target the Mansouri family in the most heinous ways imaginable. In their efforts to silence the ...

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Plot Keywords:

afghanistan | kabul | f rated | bomb | marriage | 

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Taglines:

Freedom is Never Free

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Much of the exterior footage in the film is stock footage inserted during post-production.

User Reviews

A riveting and emotional look into the triumph of the human spirit

This movie grabbed me from the very beginning, and held on tightly till the end. HIGHLY recommended.

The art direction, casting, screenplay, and music were all superb. It's refreshing to see a foreign film that has all the important elements of a major studio release these days.

If you want to learn more about Afghanistan and the struggles going on there right now between everyday people and the Taliban, this is a wonderful film to check out. It blends an Afghan family's story with that of the insurgent group to produce a very real look at that country.

I'm not sure why it's got so many low ratings!

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Afghanistan USA

Language:

Dari English Pushto

Release Date:

26 October 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Helmand Province, Afghanistan

Box Office

Budget:

$5,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Breadwinner Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1