This was published 9 years ago
Canberra filmmaker's award-winning documentary screens at Palace
By Jil Hogan
After winning best documentary at the recent Canberra International Film Festival, Amin Palangi's film Love Marriage in Kabul will play on the big screen again at a special screening Wednesday night.
Originally from Iran, Palangi lived in Paris and London with his artist parents before the family moved to Canberra when he was 17.
Mahboba Rawi, Abdulfattah Akbari, and Amin Palangi during the filming of Love Marriage in Kabul. Credit: Amy Jean Harding
He filmed made a documentary in Afghanistan in 2006 about female suicide, but was not happy with the result.
"Like a lot of others that go there I portrayed the horrific situation that exists but that wasn't all I experienced," he said.
"I felt responsible to make another film that shows a different side of life there and that yes of course it's undeniably hard and there's a war happening but life goes on, there's a lot of hope and people still manage to be happy."
Just before starting a PhD at Australian National University, Palangi returned to Afghanistan to film Love Marriage in Kabul.
The film follows charity worker Mahboba Rawi who has dedicated her life to helping orphans and widows in Afghanistan.
Abdul, one of the first orphans she rescued, is in love with the girl next door, but is unable to pay the large dowry her father is asking and asks Mahboba for help.
"You can see the young people are changing, they don't want to fall into arranged marriages," he said.
"The story is about these people wanting to break those traditions and having Mahboba there to make it a possibility."
Palangi admits Afghanistan, "was quite a cultural shock," for him.
"I'm Iranian so I grew up in a very different culture. I remember it was quite scary and the situation there is quite horrific," he said.
"I was fortunate to understand the language about 70 per cent and being familiar with the circumstances and sensitivities of the culture allowed me to have enormous access that I think we rarely see."
Now based in Sydney, Palangi will attend the screening and be joined by Rawi for a Q and A session.
Love Marriage in Kabul in on December 3 at 6:30pm at Palace Electric cinemas. Tickets only available online from lovemarriageinkabul.com - not at the ticket office.