Bollywood in Afghanistan

20.05.2019 | Cannes premiere of "The Orphanage"

Directors Shahrbanoo Sadat was honoured with the Art Cinema Award in 2016 for her film "Wolf and Sheep". Now the sequel "The Orphanage" about an orphanage in Afghanistan is also being shown in the "Quinzaine des réalisateurs" series in Cannes. Executive Producer is Katja Adomeit from Lübeck. We met up with her for an interview.

"The Orphanage" is the third film you've worked on with Shahrbanoo. What is special about your films?: We both directed our first film "Not at Home", an experiment that came about through the CPH:DOX Lab. After "Not at Home" we started with Shahrbanoo's Pentalogi. In other words, five films, all based on the unpublished diary of Shahrbanoo's best friend Anwar Hashimi. "Wolf and Sheep" was the first film, "The Orphanage" the second - but both works can be seen independently of each other.

In which countries did you film everywhere? And which scenes were shot in Hamburg or Schleswig-Holstein?: We filmed in Tajikistan, Denmark, Hamburg and Schleswig Holstein, my home country. All the scenes in the summer camp in Moscow were shot in Osterlüchten, Lenin's mausoleum in Hamburg. Some scenes in Hamburg were also shot on Billstedeter Hauptstraße, at Studio Cinegate and at Hamburg Airport

What fascinated you about the material?: I have been working with Shahrbanoo since 2012, she is a star, a woman who never gives up and who is always curious and learning, so flexible, so intelligent. I would produce all her films. The Pentalogi is so exciting because it tells the story of Afghanistan from the perspective of a child growing up. "The Orphanage" is so interesting because many different Afghan ethnicities live together in the children's home in Kabul - and this is just before the civil war breaks out, in which different ethnicities are fighting each other.

How did you find your actors?: Shahrbanoo spent six months casting at the seven largest schools in Kabul. She looked at around 20,000 children...

How many Bollywood films did you have to watch in advance to be able to film the Bollywood singing scenes "true to detail", of which there are several in the film?: Almost 300 films! And then many more. It was about finding the scenes and music that fit our script. Sometimes that was easy and sometimes difficult, because we also had to get the rights, which were sometimes refused.

Filming for The Orphanage also took place in Schleswig-Holstein

What fascinated you about the material?: I have been working with Shahrbanoo since 2012, she is a star, a woman who never gives up and who is always curious and learning, so flexible, so intelligent. I would produce all her films. The Pentalogi is so exciting because it tells the story of Afghanistan from the perspective of a child growing up. "The Orphanage" is so interesting because many different Afghan ethnicities live together in the children's home in Kabul - and this is just before the civil war breaks out, in which different ethnicities are fighting each other.

How big is Bollywood in Afghanistan?: Mega big! Everyone is up to date. And the Bollywood actors even make videos with greetings to their Afghan friends.

Do you remember where you were when you found out you were running in Cannes?: Yes, I've just come out of the revolving door of the gym and meet Shahrbanoo, who is on her way to the gym. I get a call from France and Shahr and I sit down in front of the gym and get excited. Then we went to a great wine bar in our fitness outfits and had a glass of champagne.