US fest showing ‘The Forbidden Strings’

The 6th Mother Tongue Film Festival in the US has been screening ‘The Forbidden Strings’, a documentary from Iran, Afghanistan, and Qatar.

Directed by Hassan Nouri and produced by Afsaneh Salari, the 71-minute film is available on the website of the US event on April 26-May 9, 2021.

‘The Forbidden Strings’ tells the story of four young Afghans who have been making music together for years, despite the disapproval of the people around them.

Akbar, Soori, Mohammed and Hakim, the children of some Afghan parents who fled to Iran in the 1980s, have formed a rock band.

Despite the danger they will face, they dream of performing in Afghanistan. They travel on a perilous route to get there and realize what they are up against soon after arriving.

Clearly, Afghanistan is still a very dangerous place. Moments of joy are infectious, and sobering reality is always lurking as four young people break with tradition to express themselves.

‘The Forbidden Strings’ went on screen at a number of global events, including the Cinema Verite in Iran, the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin in Germany, the One World International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in the Czech Republic, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in the US.

The Mother Tongue Film Festival celebrates cultural and linguistic diversity by showcasing films and filmmakers from around the world, highlighting the crucial role languages play in our daily lives. This year, the festival is entirely online.

Through digital storytelling, the festival amplifies the work of diverse practitioners who explore the power of language to connect the past, present, and future.

Since 2016, the annual festival has celebrated International Mother Language Day on February 21.

The sixth annual festival is set to take place via a monthly online screening series on February 21-May 31, 2021.

MG/AG