by InTrieste
Zainab Entezar, the exiled Afghan director known for her fearless documentation of women’s resistance under Taliban rule, will present her latest work, Shot the Voice of Freedom, in a special premiere at the Teatro Miela in Trieste on Tuesday, May 27, at 9 p.m. The filmmaker will meet with the press earlier that day at 5:30 p.m. in the theater’s Ridotto, where she will be available for interviews.
The documentary tells the harrowing but defiant story of two sisters in Afghanistan who refuse to accept the erasure of their basic human rights — the right to education, to work, to dress freely, and even to walk alone in public. Entezar, a dissident artist now living in exile, captures their courage and despair in a film that is both intimate and incendiary.
Her visit to Trieste is part of a broader initiative organized by La Rete del Caffé Sospeso (“The Suspended Coffee Network”), a coalition of seven small Italian festivals dedicated to supporting persecuted writers, filmmakers, and intellectuals through a kind of “media escort” — offering them both visibility and protection from afar.
The screening and Entezar’s presence are also supported by a coalition of local cultural and activist organizations, including Linea d’Ombra OdV, Teatro Miela, Gruppo Anarchico Germinal, Articolo 21, and ICS – Ufficio Rifugiati Onlus.
The following evening, on Wednesday, May 28, at 8:30 p.m., Entezar will present her book Fuorché il Silenzio (“All But Silence”) at the Gruppo Anarchico Germinal’s headquarters in Via del Bosco 52/A. The volume gathers the voices of 36 Afghan women who have continued to fight for their rights following the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul. The event will also feature screenings of three of Entezar’s poetic short films — Maryam, Bicycle, and Home — all of which explore themes of exile, resilience, and identity.
Entezar’s work has become a lifeline for a generation of Afghan women whose lives have been thrown into darkness but who, through art and defiance, continue to seek light.
