A documentary that can go hand in hand with TELL SPRING NOT TO COME THIS YEAR, presented at the Cambridge film festival, FRAME BY FRAME analyses the evolution of photojournalism in Afghanistan throughout the complicated history of this Country broken by war.
After years under the iron vice of the Taliban regime, in which photojournalism was banned and punished by prison or death, this profession started to thrive and expand to conquer credibility, beginning a free press revolution to legitimise it. Set in modern day Afghanistan, FRAME BY FRAME follows four Afghan photojournalists trying to survive in the hostile environment they live in after the foreign troops left their country. The scenario in this documentary is reminiscent of Farouky’s TELL SPRING NOT TO COME THIS YEAR, in which the Afghan army was left to its own devices by the American troops. In this film, however, the focus is on the many journalists who want to save their profession while attempting to stay alive. With a combination of real footage, old video recordings and interviews with the photographers involved, FRAME BY FRAME shadows Massoud Hossaini, winner of the Pulitzer for Breaking News Photography for one of his pictures, his wife Farzana Wahidy, Wakil Kohasar and Najibullah Musafer. Every one of them is fighting a different battle to win the war against the violent censorship exercise by the Afghan warlords and the current government.
The real footage used by directors Alexandra Bombach and Mo Scarpelli is effective in showcasing the adverse conditions in which all this four photographers are working and how much they are achieving in this fight despite the circumstances. Particularly heartbreaking is Farzana’s own battle against the restrictions endorsed by the government to prevent the use of photojournalism to tell the story of many women abused by the chauvinistic Afghan society. Her decision to give to the story of self-mutilation the attention it deserves is commendable, especially because men are not allowed to take pictures of women and she is the only one that can do it. However, her position is even more difficult since a woman that argues and speaks her mind is considered dangerous and in need of control.
According to them, a country without photo-memories is a country without identity.
In FRAME BY FRAME many different topics are highlighted in the interviews with all four photographers, such as how a photo can lead to change and how important it is to have images recorded to build an authentic cultural heritage. According to them, a country without photo-memories is a country without identity. What they desperately want is to give a strong and real voice for the Afghani people. A voice that has been blocked by the Taliban and that is still kept shut by the government that is passively letting powerful people dictate over the citizens. The cinematography captures the struggle of the population and through the lens of the camera the audience witnesses the effort that each photographer has put into their work. The collection of pictures shown throughout the documentary does not always show the horrors of war, but also the ordinary faces of the Afghani people leaving through the conflict.
Even though they have to constantly battle in order to keep working against all odds to capture images, they keep on crusading for this cause because they want to truly represent the essence of the Afghani population that is fighting a civil war against the Taliban. However, even though the reality for these professional photographers is harsh and filled with danger, in the documentary there is also space for hope. Hope for a better future in which photojournalism will not be considered as illegal or dangerous for the people trying to report the reality of their Country. Farzana, Wakil, Massoud and Najibullah are all working on many different projects to promote professional photography by opening courses in which students can learn how to tell a story through pictures. By fighting for their right to express their opinion they are all building a better future for the photographers of the next generation and FRAME BY FRAME can be considered as a powerful means to make their voice louder.
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