The following piece ran in today’s New York Times on our dear and brilliant Ariana Delawari and her film “We Came Home.” Ariana has served as a Voice Project Global Ambassador, played the first all girls rock concert in Kabul, Afghanistan(!!), and truly exemplifies the hope, commonality and positive social impact that can be achieved through music. Good on ya Ari!
MOVIE REVIEW
The Traditional (and Inner) Rhythms of Kabul
Ariana Delawari in Afghanistan in her film, “We Came Home.”
By NICOLE HERRINGTON. Published: September 26, 2013
In “We Came Home,” Ariana Delawari documents her father’s role in helping his home country, Afghanistan, modernize its financial system after the fall of the Taliban. But this intimate film, Ms. Delawari’s first, is about so much more: her family’s history (seen in home movies and photographs), the resilience of the Afghan people, and her own story of self-discovery as a musician.
Children, refugees, bands and dancers caught her curious eye during visits to Afghanistan, and we see those images here. (Ms. Delawari’s father, Noorullah, and mother, Setara, moved there from Los Angeles in 2002.) Her personal mission soon became clear: She would make an album, enlisting her American bandmates and Afghan musicians. The achingly beautiful, soul-filled music that they create, recorded in Dari and English in the Delawari home in Kabul, transcends language. The collaboration is (nearly) effortless, and the scenes of them performing together are magical. A dozen years ago the Afghan men would have been hanged for breaking Taliban decrees against music by playing instruments like the dilruba or tabla.
In writing about the resulting musical work, “Lion of Panjshir,” in The New York Times in 2009, Jon Caramanica said, “The best songs on this impressive album are those that blend Ms. Delawari’s two locales.” He called “Be Gone Taliban” “a ferocious and visceral piece of agit-pop.”Fortunately, Ms. Delawari, now 32, has inherited her father’s passion for activism: He’s helping to shape Afghanistan’s financial future, and she’s one of the country’s cultural ambassadors.
More About This Movie
We Came Home