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Framebyframe film afghanistan5/30/2023 ![]() Frame by Frame is a work of profound immediacy, in sync with the photographers’ commitment and hope. And like the four photojournalists, they have an eye for beauty as well as a nose for news, capturing scenes of unexpected lightness: an open-air pop concert, a paddleboat ride on a glass-smooth lake. The filmmakers are attuned to the workaday camaraderie and competitive spirit that drive their thoughtful subjects. When Wahidy wipes away her tears and lifts her camera to photograph the woman, the gesture has the weight and emotion of a benediction. Bombach and Scarpelli wisely let the moment and its aftermath play out without rushing in to break the silence. Her matter-of-fact description of the horrific torture she endured at the hands of her in-laws and husband is devastating. The documentarians’ lens zeros in on the delicate beadwork the woman performs with needle and thread, her arms terribly scarred. In the most powerful scene, Wahidy interviews a burn victim away from the hospital (“Choose a name,” she tells her). Driving home the point, end titles note a rising number of cases of violence against journos in Afghanistan, and two Afghan members of the crew are listed as “Anonymous” in the closing credits. The filmmakers’ cameras are afforded more leeway as he spells out why. A burn unit doctor is adamant that Wahidy’s camera would endanger all of them. Wahidy’s trip to Herat, a city with a high reported incidence of self-immolation, is a lesson in the dangers that persist. Wahidy, who at age 13 was attacked by a stranger for not wearing a burqa, speaks with quiet outrage of the Taliban’s impact on her generation, especially among women who were denied educations. ![]() Putting herself in particularly challenging situations is Hossaini’s wife, Farzana Wahidy, who focuses on Afghan women, to the dismay of traditionalists who believe that females belong in the shadows and not at the center of a viewfinder. Read more SXSW Premieres Include Judd Apatow’s ‘Trainwreck,’ Melissa McCarthy in ‘Spy’ Visiting with the family of the photo’s subject, he’s tender and patient with a shy child and listens to the mother’s heartbreaking observation: “Every year our wounds get fresher.” He’s visibly distressed when recalling the circumstances of the picture that earned him international acclaim: a bombing during a religious procession. Somewhat more conflicted about his work, even as he knows it’s his calling, is Massoud Hossaini, who received the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. ![]() Engaging with some of the country’s many heroin addicts - those living on the streets as well as patients at recovery centers - he says with certainty that “a photo can lead to change.” A less experienced photographer, the gentle and devout Wakil Kohsar, chronicles aspects of society that might otherwise be ignored.
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