‘Bread & Roses’: The Afghan Women Who Refuse to Disappear
The powerful documentary captures their defiance against the Taliban’s oppression — and dares us to do more than watch.
The streets have colorful umbrellas and people selling their wares, from plump tomatoes to green vegetables. A man is making pink cotton candy, while another is fixing his bike. There are chickens roasting, and roses on a car’s dashboard. There are beautiful mountains looming. You could be anywhere, but no, you are definitively in Kabul, and your dreams are about to shatter.
August 14, 2021, felt like any other night. Music was playing, food was flowing, and Zahra Mohammadi, a dentist, was getting engaged to a man who loved her. Director Sahra Mani fastidiously chronicles both the quotidian and the unusual. The next day, the Taliban enter Kabul, changing everything, especially for women.