Commendation of the Ecumenical Jury, Kyiv 2008

Hana Makhmalbaf immerses her audience in a contemporary Afghan desert world with precise and accurate details. Through a little girl’s eyes, we experience a harsh society where reality and metaphor intermingle, where Taliban-brainwashed boys torment the girl in war games, where little girls are mean towards each other in school. Despite the intolerance, there are many moments of hope, even grace.