Afghan Ambassador on Hand for Documentary Screening
Talk about timing.
Just a few days after President Barack Obama announced the United States would be retaining a military force in Afghanistan , the National Press Club will screen “Frame by Frame,” a documentary about the new generation of photojournalists in the war-torn country, and will have Hamdullah Mohib, Afghanistan’s ambassador to the U.S., in attendance.
The relatively cosmopolitan country was thrown into chaos with the Soviet invasion in 1979, kicking off more than 30 years of conflict that persists to this day. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in the 1990s, they banned, among many things, photography, and a generation of the country’s home-grown visual history was hobbled. With the U.S. invasion and shift in control after 2001, a new wave of photographers and photojournalists learned the trade, and have been documenting their nation ever since. “I want to use photography in a way not to be voiceless again,” one of the subjects, a female photographer, says in the movie.
“Frame by Frame,” by Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli, has been making the rounds of festivals and documentary circles, and now the Press Club, on Tuesday, Oct. 20 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for non-members.
The filmmakers will join via Skype a post-screening discussion moderated by club president John Hughes. There should be plenty to talk about.
For more information, see the club’s calendar and website .
Obama Announces Halt of Troop Withdrawal in Afghanistan
See photos, follies, HOH Hits and Misses and more at Roll Call’s new video site.
Get breaking news alerts and more from Roll Call in your inbox or on your iPhone.