THE WONDERFUL WOMEN OF "THE BEAUTY ACADEMY OF KABUL"
Laughter and gasps of disbelief erupted from the audience at a recent screening of "The Beauty Academy of Kabul", Liz Mermin’s documentary about American beauticians who open the first post-Taliban beauty school in Afghanistan. The film was part of "The Great Game", an Afghan culture and history festival at London’s Tricycle Theatre.
Mermin’s film concentrates on women, specifically the brave Afghan students who come to learn how to section and cut a woman’s hair (where such work had previously been banned), and the somewhat naïve Americans who have travelled a great distance to teach them. The result is a tender portrait of life in Kabul for the city's marginalised mothers and daughters, and a cunning look at America's brazen approach to this region of the world.
The women are a treat to watch. It is remarkable to hear some of the lesser-told stories of Afghanistan's oppressive macho culture, full of stern domestic rules and alarming violence. But these keen beauty-school students also talk about their loves and passions, and even get into water fights with squirt bottles. Mermin has captured a Afghani vitality we rarely get to see.
The American hairdressers add a slightly bizarre twist to the film. It is hard not to be startled by some of their remarks as they grapple with just how different life is for Afghan women. Their slightly judgmental, dumbfounded reactions to local rites and mores, such as arranged marriages, bans on pre-marital intimacy and rules against showing skin or wearing makeup in public, left me wondering whether any of them had picked up a newspaper in the last 30 years, let alone looked at a map to see where Afghanistan is.
Answering questions after the screening, Mermin said the beauty school closed after six months in 2003, owing to a lack of a clear business plan as well as duelling egos among hairdressers. A number of audience members seemed eager to discuss "Kabul Beauty School", Deborah Rodriguez's New York Times-bestselling memoir, co-written with Kristin Ohlson, about her experiences moving from Michigan to Afghanistan to open up a beauty school. Columbia Pictures has already purchased the film rights, lending more excitement to the buzz. Mermin patiently divulged that she heard Sandra Bullock was in line for the lead role.
Having been moved by the real-life stories of Mermin's film, I can't help but worry about what this beauty school will look like after a Hollywood makeover. I only hope the big money will grant these modest women with grand dreams the same insightful compassion of "The Beauty Academy of Kabul".
"The Beauty Academy of Kabul" is now available on DVD.
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thanks & new film on bbc4 this monday
May 7, 2009 - 18:48 — Liz Mermin (not verified)Thanks so much for writing about 'Beauty Academy', Gary - very glad you enjoyed it. I'd have emailed to do this less publicly, but since I can't figure out how to do that I hope you won't mind my using this space to plug my new doc (also about bizarre culture-clashes, though not quite as severe or moving as those in BAK) which premieres Monday 11 May at 10 pm on BBC4, launching the new season of Storyville. TEAM QATAR: UP FOR DEBATE is about a high-school debate team that was formed when Sheikha Moza, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, decided to enlist two British Oxford students to turn five kids living in Doha into world-class debaters in a few short months.... it follows the team (who come from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, & Qatar) through training in London, Doha, & New York to the world championships in Washington, DC. People say it's a fun watch - I hope you can check it out.
And thanks again for watching & blogging about BAK....
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