The Black Tulip is a 2010 film set in Afghanistan

Afghanistan

Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 directed by novice filmmaker Sonia Nassery Cole

Sonia Nassery Cole

Sonia Nassery Cole is an Afghan-American activist, socialite, film director and actress.-Early life:Cole was born in Afghanistan. She escaped the county during the Soviet occupation by walking into neighboring Pakistan, aided by a nomad across the desert which her parents had entrusted to guide...

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Plot

The film depicts the fictional Mansouri family who start a restaurant in Kabul named The Poet's Corner, where artists and writers meet. The story centers on Farishta (Cole), a woman who runs the cafe, where they serve wine in teapots and have poetry readings by locals and members of the U.S. military. This ultimately angers the Taliban who begin kidnapping and assassinating family and friends of the cafe.

Cast

• Sonia Nassery Cole as Farishta Mansouri
• Haji Gul Aser as Hadar Mansouri
• Walid Amini as Akram Zabuli
• Somaia Razaya as Belkis Mansouri
• Jack Scalia
  Jack Scalia
  Jack Scalia is an American actor. He has had many roles in television series , television movies, and feature films.-Early life:...
  
   as Colonel Williams
• Edoardo Costa
  Edoardo Costa
  Edoardo Cicorini , better known as Edoardo Costa, is an Italian actor, entrepreneur and former model. His career began in the fashion industry as a model in the early 1990s for the modeling agency Why Not. Desiring something more, he began studying acting in Paris and Milan as well as in Los Angeles...
  
   as Colonel Tanelli
• Hosna Tanha as Bobo Jan
• Sayed Rahim Sayeedi as Majuba
• Basir Mujaheed as Amanullah
• Shafi Sahel as Old Afghan Poet
• Payenda Joyenda as Gul
• Sadaf Yarmal as Satara Mansouri

Production

According to the film's director, Sonia Nassery Cole, a few weeks before the movie was to begin filming in Afghanistan, Taliban militants caught Zarifa Jahon, an actress Cole said she had wanted to cast in the film, and cut off her feet as punishment. Cole then cast herself in the lead role instead. However, Latif Ahmadi, the head of the Afghan Film Organization, said he thought Cole's statement was "propaganda for the film" and he didn't believe it had happened. According to an article in The New York Times, many others in the film industry in Kabul had said they had never heard of such an actress nor of such an episode. When questioned about the lack of evidence about the event, Cole later claimed that the actress had told her in a telephone call about the amputations, and said that the woman asked her to leave her alone for her own safety.

According to Cole, the film's cinematographer, a producer and a set designer had all abandoned her "in the middle of production." Michael Carney, the set designer, who had worked on the film in Afghanistan for two months, said he left four days before the film completed shooting. "I could feel death," said Keith Smith, the original cinematographer. "I didn't sign up for that."

The film was largely financed by Cole.

Reception

The film premiered September 23, 2010, at the Ariana Cinema Theater in Kabul

Kabul

Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

, Afghanistan. There were advance screenings at the headquarters of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and at the embassy. Some Afghan attendees at the premiere challenged certain scenes in the film as not being faithful to Afghan culture or tradition.

The film was selected for screening as Afghanistan's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...

 at the 83rd Academy Awards

83rd Academy Awards

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2010 and took place February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, Academy Awards ...

 but didn't make the January shortlist. Two songs feaured in the film, "Forever One Love" and "Freedom Song", were also in contention for the Best Original Song Academy Award

Academy Award for Best Original Song

The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...

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See also

• List of submissions to the 83rd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
• List of Afghan submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film