The Black Tulip (2010 film)

The Black Tulip

Film poster
Directed by Sonia Nassery Cole
Produced by Sonia Nassery Cole
Chris A. Cole
Evans Butterworth
Written by Sonia Nassery Cole
David Michael O'Neill
Starring Haji Gul Aser
Sonia Nassery Cole
Walid Amini
Jack Scalia
Edoardo Costa
Music by Christopher Young
Cinematography Dave McFarland
Release dates
  • September 23, 2010
Running time
116 minutes
Country Afghanistan
United States
Language Dari
Pashto
English
Arabic
Italian
The Black Tulip logo
The Black Tulip logo designed by Matt Palmateer.

The Black Tulip is a 2010 film set in Afghanistan directed by novice filmmaker[1] Sonia Nassery Cole.

Plot

The film depicts the fictional Mansouri family who start a restaurant in Kabul named The Poets' Corner, where artists and writers meet.[1] The story centers on Farishta (Cole), a woman who runs the cafe, where they serve wine in teapots and have poetry readings by locals and members of the U.S. military. This ultimately angers the Taliban who begin kidnapping and assassinating family and friends of the cafe.[2]

Cast

Production

According to the film's director, Sonia Nassery Cole, a few weeks before the movie was to begin filming in Afghanistan, Taliban militants caught Zarifa Jahon, an actress Cole said she had wanted to cast in the film, and cut off her feet as punishment. Cole then cast herself in the lead role instead.[2] When questioned about the lack of evidence about the event, Cole later claimed that the actress had told her in a telephone call about the amputations, and said that the woman asked her to leave her alone for her own safety. However, Latif Ahmadi, the head of the Afghan Film Organization, said he thought Cole's statement was "propaganda for the film" and he didn't believe it had happened. According to an article in The New York Times, many others in the film industry in Kabul had said they had never heard of such an actress nor of such an episode.[2]

According to Cole, the film's cinematographer, a producer and a set designer had all abandoned her "in the middle of production." Michael Carney, the set designer, who had worked on the film in Afghanistan for two months, said he left four days before the film completed shooting. "I could feel death," said Keith Smith, the original cinematographer. "I didn't sign up for that."[1]

The film was largely financed by Cole.[1]

Reception

The film premiered September 23, 2010, at the Ariana Cinema Theater in Kabul, Afghanistan.[2] There were advance screenings at the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and at the embassy. Some Afghan attendees at the premiere challenged certain scenes in the film as not being faithful to Afghan culture or tradition.[2]

The film was selected for screening as Afghanistan's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards[1][3][4] but didn't make the January shortlist.[5] Two songs featured in the film, "Forever One Love" and "Freedom Song", were also in contention for the Best Original Song Academy Award.[6][7]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Barnes, Brooks (September 21, 2010). "A Director's Many Battles to Make Her Movie". The New York Times. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Nordland, Rod (September 23, 2010). "Snickers Greet Premiere of Afghan Film". The New York Times. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  3. "2010-2011 Foreign Language Film Award Screening Schedule". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2010-12-20.
  4. "Foreign language films submitted for Oscars". The Independent (London). September 30, 2010. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
  5. "9 Foreign Language Films Continue to Oscar® Race". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
  6. Kay, Jeremy (December 15, 2010). "Academy announces 41 songs on Oscar shortlist". ScreenDaily.com. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  7. "41 Original Songs Queue for 2010 Oscar". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2010-12-30.

External links