X
  • 2009
  • Unrated
  • HBO Documentary Films
  • 1 h 28 m
  • 2009
  • Unrated
  • HBO Documentary Films
  • 1 h 28 m

Summary After 30 years of Taliban and wartime rule, pop culture is creeping back into Afghanistan in the form of Afghan Star, an enormously popular American Idol–type contest. Filmmaker Havana Marking follows the dramatic stories of four of the contestants over three months, from regional auditions to the finals in Kabul, giving us a new, and mo...

Directed By: Havana Marking

  • 2009
  • Unrated
  • HBO Documentary Films
  • 1 h 28 m
  • 2009
  • Unrated
  • HBO Documentary Films
  • 1 h 28 m

Afghan Star

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 17 Critic Reviews
78
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
6.6
My Score
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Where to Watch

Summary After 30 years of Taliban and wartime rule, pop culture is creeping back into Afghanistan in the form of Afghan Star, an enormously popular American Idol–type contest. Filmmaker Havana Marking follows the dramatic stories of four of the contestants over three months, from regional auditions to the finals in Kabul, giving us a new, and mo...

Directed By: Havana Marking

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 17 Critic Reviews
78
94% Positive
16 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 17 Critic Reviews
78
94% Positive
16 Reviews
6% Mixed
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
100
A remarkable documentary.
By Jonathan Curiel FULL REVIEW
83
If nothing else, Afghan Star offers a reminder of how much has changed in Afghanistan from the late ’70s--when Kabul was a secular-oriented city with co-ed universities and a thriving nightclub scene--to the rise of the Taliban.
By Noel Murray FULL REVIEW
80
Afghan Star goes much deeper, eloquently conveying the tensions, small victories and shattering setbacks of a fragile democracy struggling to regain a once-flourishing culture.
By Ann Hornaday FULL REVIEW
80
Wholly one-third of the country, some 11 million people, watched the finale. Marking's film is too astute to pretend that such fleeting things can bring about peaceful democracy, but it's also perfectly aware that they certainly can't hurt.
FULL REVIEW
75
Focusing on the contestants who make the initial cut -- two men and two women -- the film can't resist wringing some American Idol-style suspense from speculation about who the eventual victor will be. But the movie also leaves no doubt as to who the real winners are.
By Rene Rodriguez FULL REVIEW
70
Marking follows the finalists around on the last leg of their PR campaigns and captures something sweetly goofy, with an edge of creepy, about their aping of smarmy American self-promotion (kissing babies, etc).
FULL REVIEW
60
Fascinating and, when you see Afghan versions of Simon Cowell and Co. reacting to tryouts, a reminder of how fame and the thirst for it is the same in any language.
By Joe Neumaier FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
6.6
40% Positive
2 Ratings
60% Mixed
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 5 User Ratings
6.6
40% Positive
2 Ratings
60% Mixed
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Channel 4 British Documentary Film Foundation, Redstart Media, Roast Beef Productions, Aria Productions, Channel 4 Television Corporation, Kaboora Productions
Release Date Jun 26, 2009
Duration 1 h 28 m
Rating Unrated
Genres
Website http://www.afghanstardocumentary.com/
View All Details

Awards

Sundance Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 3 Nominations
Golden Tomato Awards (Rotten Tomatoes)
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Evening Standard British Film Awards
• 1 Nomination

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