View from a grain of sandCombining verite footage, interviews and archival material, Los Angeles based film maker, Meena Nanji has fashioned a harrowing, thought-provoking, yet intimate portrait of the plight of Afghan women in the last 30 years-from the rule of King Mohammed Zahir Shah to the current Hamid Karzai government to the activist work of RAWA, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan. Over a period of five years, she spent months in a refugee camp in Pakistan, where she documented the efforts of three women to rebuild their lives and help others in the process: Shapire, a teacher; Roeena, a physician; and Wajeeha, a social activist.

Visit the film’s website here: www.viewgrainofsand.com.

Film Reviews

View From a Grain of SandDisputing rosy media accounts of an improved situation for women, docu profiles three females who are barely coping with state of women’s rights in their homeland. PBS-style filmmaking and storytelling makes this a sure item for pub tube airings and widespread international broadcasts.” — Variety

searing, wide-reaching… an especially timely addition to the collective history of the plight of women under repression.” — Los Angeles Times

View From a Grain of SandVia interviews, narration, and vérité and archival footage, Nanji compellingly argues that the loss of women’s rights in Afghanistan is not a simple story that revolves around the Taliban. It is a much larger-and continuing-story of a nation that has suffered through near-constant war and mass displacement over several decades.” — Make/shift Magazine

View From a Grain of Sandgripping… Nanji narrates this history with clarity and passion … an insightful, often heart-wrenching account of trauma, war and rights abuses…” — LA Weekly

There are VERY few films that approach the issue of Afghanistan, Afghan women’s rights, and US policy with a decent level of sensitivity, political maturity, and sophistication. Meena Nanji’s film is one of those very rare films that tackles all the important issues with grace, and conviction…” — Sonali Kolhatkar, Co-Director of Afghan Women’s Mission

a work of love and passion for a Afghanistan and the Afghan people…” — Adam Shapiro, former country director, Global Rights, Afghanistan.

…a fascinating portrait of resilience…” — Flavorpill.com

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