Arzu Qaderi
Arzu Qaderi born in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Soon after the civil war began[1], Arzu and her family left Kabul and settled in Germany. In September 2017, she travelled for the first time since childhood to Afghanistan, to begin filming her documentary film titled ‘My Afghan Diary’ on the topic of female empowerment. Arzu's documentary film seeks to understand the perspective of a marginalized audience: Afghan women, who work successfully within the media sector despite many challenges from the outside world. Arzu asks how they continue to follow their dreams with such strong spirit, amidst the ongoing conflict. By supporting each other and helping to shed light on individual narratives Arzu wants to contribute to creating a lasting change in the fight for equality. ‘My Afghan Diary’ is comprised of confidential and controversial interviews in which Afghan women speak openly about the hardships they have faced trying to balance their home life, careers and passions. The balancing act between family and work is a universal motif that many women around the globe can relate to. Afghanistan is a war-torn country and the society that they live within places its own limitations on womanhood so Arzu enquires into how they live.
Arzu was bullied and mocked in school due to her olive complexion and also, due to her difficulties at first learning the German language. These early experiences fueled her passion for communicating and as she has always identified as an outcast, this has driven her to take her own path.
On the 1st of June 2006 Arzu moved to London, after graduating and completing her studies in Germany. Initially Arzu considered moving to America but then settled on London starting from scratch again and not being familiar with the language, which reminded her of her schooldays. She took English lessons to acclimatise to the language and began to study drama but felt it seemed unrealistic and very difficult to pursue at this time. Arzu then obtained a degree in ‘Translating & Interpreting’ and then undertook a degree in ‘Journalism’ which only caused her interest in current affairs to grow.
Arzu attended Afrika Fashion Week London and was approached by a designer who asked her to host a fashion show – from there on Arzu was discovered as a presenter and went on to host many shows due to her communication skills. Arzu has communicated with people of different backgrounds throughout her practice and has worked a lot with the African community. She has received a citation from the Federal Government of Ottawa, Canada.
In 2012 her show with Guess Radio marked the start of her journey into the media industry covering topics spanning from current affairs, fashion, to the music industry.
Arzu worked with the BBC transcribing both episodes of this award-winning documentary ‘BBC Exodus: Our Journey to Europe’, two years prior to its 2016 release date. The translation was from both Farsi and German into English and the documentary was shown internationally – even going on to win an award at the BRIT awards and sparking Arzu's interest in creating her own documentary. She has also spoken out about the poor standard of women's health in Afghanistan for the European Campaign of Human Rights in Afghanistan.
My Afghan Diary Documentary
In September 2017, Arzu travelled to Afghanistan to film her short documentary entitled ‘My Afghan Diary' which was shot and produced independently. 'My Afghan Diary' is "a documentary which explores female empowerment"[2]. In an interview Arzu states that her "film seeks to understand the perspective of a marginalized audience: Afghan women, who work successfully within the media sector"[3] which she does through a series of interviews. Filming is banned, so Arzu had to hide her camera whilst filming the streets of Kabul and secretly arrange these interviews. There were many challenges faced whilst filming and covering a topic of this subversive nature. Living in Germany, a good country for women and equal rights, caused Arzu to want to shed light on how women aren't being supported in the same way across the world.
‘My Afghan Diary’ has been awarded ‘Best Documentary’ by Festival del Cinema di Salerno, ‘Best Short Documentary’ by Jaipur International Film Festival (JIFF) and has been screened at Picture This Film Festival in Calgary, an International Festival with a focus on disability. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Theresa May, sent Arzu a letter of congratulations in her dedication to this cause. It has recently been screened at the South Film and Arts Academy Festival (SFAAF) and has won an award in the ‘Best Short Documentary’ category at the Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes in France. Also, on both the 27th and 30th of December it has been screened twice in Hamburg, held by organisation FreiwilligenBörseHamburg 'Bürger Helfen Bürgern’ in order to spread this message of empowerment.
References
External links
This article "Arzu Qaderi" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Arzu Qaderi. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
