Playing with Fire (1) • Directed by Anneta Papathanassiou • 2014 • Afghanistan

Following six courageous Afghan women in Kabul with a passion for theatre and acting, Playing with Fire shows the comeback of the women at the forefront of the theatre arts and the trials that they must overcome for their art in Afghanistan. The inspiring and bold interviews with these women show how each of them combats not only the powerful forces of Islamic fundamentalism but also the violent Taliban and the patriarchal tradition of hostility toward women actors. Papathanassiou’s film provides an honest, strikingly unsentimental, and at times painful look at gender discrimination in a society that is ruled by men.
Playing with Fire depicts two parallels: one being a fearless record of women’s lives and the other the political trajectory of women’s rights in Afghanistan. This powerful portrait, above all, offers compelling evidence of the ongoing battle that women face every day and how they have become a powerful voice within a nation that is afflicted and tormented by patriarchy and war.