Film Screening:

Frame by Frame

(Alexandria Bombach & Mo Scarpelli, 2015, 85 min, Afghanistan, in Dari and English, Color, DVD)

-- Introduced by Julie Harbin, Editor of ISLAMiCommentary, who worked training journalists in Afghanistan in 2004-2005! / Q&A to follow!

After decades of war and an oppressive Taliban regime, four Afghan photojournalists face the realities of building a free press in a country left to stand on its own - reframing Afghanistan for the world and for themselves.

When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, taking a photo was a crime. After the regime fell from power in 2001, a fledgling free press emerged and a photography revolution was born. Now, as foreign troops and media withdraw, Afghanistan is left to stand on its own, and so are its journalists. Set in a modern Afghanistan bursting with color and character, Frame by Frame follows four Afghan photojournalists as they navigate an emerging and dangerous media landscape - reframing Afghanistan for the world, and for themselves. Through cinema vérité, intimate interviews, powerful photojournalism, and never-before-seen archival footage shot in secret during the Taliban regime, the film connects audiences with four humans in the pursuit of the truth.

"A piercing, poignant and - as befits its subject - beautifully composed exploration of the challenges and responsibilities faced by photojournalists in Afghanistan's post-Taliban free press." -- Variety

 "Superbly made and emotionally devestating look at a nation truly on the brink... entrancing." -- Criterion Cast

Cost: Free and open to the public

Sponsors: The Duke University Middle East Studies Center (DUMESC), the Center of Muslim Life (CML), the Program in the Arts of the Moving Image (AMI), IslamiCommentary, and the Dewitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy.