Writing Hawa

Forced into marriage as a child, Hawa learns to read and write when she's 52. With the support of her daughter, the filmmaker, she even opens a small textile business. However, with the return of the Taliban to power, her dreams, along with those of her daughter and granddaughter, are shattered as they face new struggles. This truly outstanding documentary screened at 59 international film festivals, winning 15 awards and 5 special mentions along the way. All very well deserved. filmfriend presents Writing Hawa thanks to a collaboration with Engagement Global's Development Education in Germany (EBD) programme and the Doxs Ruhr film festival *** Filmed over five years, this is the story of three generations of Hazara women from the same family in Afghanistan. With unique access and empathy, director Najiba Noori films her mother Hawa and her niece Zahra in their aspirations to emancipate themselves from patriarchal traditions. Hawa builds a small trade, finding beautiful traditional Hazara embroideries in the Bamiyan region and turning them into modern dresses to sell in Kabul. She eventually saves her granddaughter Zahra from her abusive father in a remote village and brings her to the capital. There, they study together and make plans for the future. When the Taliban return in August 2021 it turns the lives of the three women upside down: Zahra has to return to the village she escaped from, and Najiba, the filmmaker and Hawa's daughter, is forced to flee the country to France. From afar, she helps Hawa continue fighting for her dreams. IDFA (Winner Fipresci Award, International comp., Best First Feature Award nom.), Docpoint, FIPADOC, True/False, Film Festival Assen, FIFDH (Winner Youth Jury Award), FIGRA, One World (Winner Audience Award), CPH:DOX, Movies that Matter, Salem Filmfest, ZagrebDox, It's All True Festival (Winner Best Feature Documentary Jury Award), Dokumentale, Istanbul International Film Festival, Millenium Docs Against Gravity, Hot Docs (School Student Choice Award, Special mention Best Social Impact Doc), JEONJU, MOOV Film Festival (University of Antwerp Award, Honorable mention Youth Jury Award), Sheffield, Sidney, Dok.Fest Munich (Audience Award) DOCUDAYS (Special Mention RIGHTS NOW! Jury), EU-Asian Film Festival Hong Kong, Frauenwelten, EQUIS Feminist Film Fesival, EBS, India Film Festival Melbourne, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, Yamagata (Citizen's Award), Kasseler Dokfest (Golden Key Feature Film), TRT, Oslo (Best Feature Doc), Move It! Human Rights Festival, Le Grand Bivouac (Grand Jury Award), Bergen (Checkpoint Award), Chattogram International Documentary Film Festival, Budapest, Reframe, Budapest (Grand Prix of the "In your hands - the future of knowledge" Jury, MENA Film Festival (Scarlet Pomegranate Award)