Frame by Frame documentary pushes case of the Afghan press­

A ‘media revolution’ is unfolding across Afghanistan, one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist.

Rebuilding Journalism Post-Taliban in Afghanistan

Afghanistan is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist yet there is a “media revolution” unfolding across the nation.

In a country where photographs were forbidden under the Taliban, journalists are trying to rebuild a free press. A documentary, Frame by Frame, premiering in Australia on ­Saturday at the Persian Film Festival ­in Sydney, sheds light on the everyday realities of those in the Afghan press.

US filmmakers Alexandria Bombach and Mo Scarpelli tracked four Afghan photo­journal­ists: Pulitzer Prize-winne­r Massoud Hossaini, fellow Agence France-Presse journalist Wakil Kohsar, and freelancers Najibullah Musafer and Farzana Wahidy.

Bombach, in Sydney for the prem­iere, said Afghan journalists feared their nation could be forgotten. “They hope the inter­national eye doesn’t turn away, as it is moving on to other countries,” she said, referring to the turmoil in Syria and Iraq.

“We really just want to connect the audience with ­Afghanistan in a way they have never been able to before and … dispel stereotypes.”

She said Wahidy, as a female journalist, had taken a great risk in agreeing to be involved. But Wahidy told the filmmakers she wouldn’t “let them make a film without a woman in it”.

Bombach said the withdrawal of Western forces had created ­additional obstacles. “After troop withdrawals, international media was also leaving. Bureaus have shut down and it has had effects on the economy of journalism.”

While the country had made progress, journalists were still subjected to threats, and violence — not only by insurgents, but by the government and police, according to Hossaini. “Some government security organisations also try to threaten journalists to stop talking about some specific issues,” he saidfrom Afghanistan.

Still, said Bombach, “the progress that has been made is pretty amazing. People are calling it a media revolution.”

The Persian Film Festival runs from today until Sunday in Sydney’s Leichhardt­