Enemies of Happiness

Enemies opens with footage from 2003. At a crowded conference to determine the political future of Afghanistan, a young woman stands at a podium. She turns to address the assembly, telling them, "Many of you have blood on your hands." Pandemonium erupts. She is thrown out of the session. Flash forward to 2006. This same young woman, Malalai Joya, is attempting to become the first female member of the new Afghani parliament. She has armed guards (there have been four attempts against her life) and travels in secrecy, but she is a hero to many Afghanis. Enemies of Happiness is an election drama, a glimpse into a hidden Afghanistan and a portrait of an extraordinarily brave woman who is changing the world. It is also a cinematic wonder, full of passion, humor and beauty, as well as a provocative debut from this Danish director. (DW)

Plays with Sari's Mother (dir. James Longley; 21 min.) In 2003, James Longley went to Iraq to document a country under occupation, and emerged with the stunning Iraq in Fragments. Sari's Mother is a missing chapter that tells the story of a poor family living south of Baghdad, and how one courageous mother struggles to get help for a sick child in the shattered healthcare system.