War+Love in Kabul
Director Helga Reidemeister
Countries
Duration 87 min
Synopsis
Hossein + Shaima have loved each other since childhood. As teenagers they are separated by war and meet again in Kabul in the late 90s. Poverty forces Hossein to fight in the war. A shell splinter leaves him paralyzed. Shaima is sold in marriage to a man 40 years her senior and falls pregnant. Since her husband still owes half the dowry, her father brings her back into the constraining patriarchal fold of the family, where she lives today with her daughter. This situation doesn’t prevent the two lovers from seeing each other as much as possible – even though it’s against their families’ hard rules. Caught on the horns of a dilemma and in constant fear of revenge on the part of the male members of both families, they struggle under the most difficult circumstances to hold on to their love.
Hossein + Shaima have loved each other since childhood. As teenagers they are separated by war and meet again in Kabul in the late 90s. Poverty forces Hossein to fight in the war. A shell splinter leaves him paralyzed. Shaima is sold in marriage to a man 40 years her senior and falls pregnant. Since her husband still owes half the dowry, her father brings her back into the constraining patriarchal fold of the family, where she lives today with her daughter. This situation doesn’t prevent the two lovers from seeing each other as much as possible – even though it’s against their families’ hard rules. Caught on the horns of a dilemma and in constant fear of revenge on the part of the male members of both families, they struggle under the most difficult circumstances to hold on to their love.