by Lagan Sebert
AFI FEST Daily News

Sedika Mojadidi directed MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN

WITH THE RECENT SURGE in the number and success of political documentaries, it is not surprising to see so many at AFI FEST 2006 presented by Audi. But what becomes of these efforts? FAHRENHEIT 9/11 broke records at the box office and sparked worldwide debate, but did it have an effect on current politics?

For this five-part AFI FEST Daily News series, filmmakers were asked:

"Do documentary films have the ability to significantly affect the social and political environment. And, should they?"

Part 2 of 5: Sedika Mojadidi

Sedika Mojadidi directed MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN. Mojadidi's documentary follows her father's return to Afghanistan to battle one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world.

Following their travels from the Laura Bush Maternity Ward in Kabul to one of the country's most isolated rural hospitals in Ghazni province, the film gives a rare insider's view into the lives of the women behind the statistics.

"I don't think documentary films have that great an ability to effect our social and political environment, in terms of motivating people to take action or to organize for change.

"There is such a glut of films (both documentary and fiction). There are so many television shows, in addition to new Internet-based media, circulating in theaters, on TV, on iPods, on DVD and on computers that I think it's extremely difficult for one film to make the kind of permanent impact one would hope it could make on society.

"The competition between mediums to keep viewers engaged and entertained is terribly fierce and the audience's attention span extremely short lived. I think a good majority of what people watch is consumed and forgotten.

"I thought Michael Moore's film would have a greater impact on the elections, but it in the long run, it seemed to be preaching to the already converted.

"I think certain documentaries, like Internet-based 9/11 films, LOOSE CHANGE or 911 REVISITED have attracted huge audiences (which I think is great) because they're controversial, topical, easily accessible. And I think a large portion of the American people don't believe everything the Bush Administration is telling them.

"But I haven't seen these films motivating people to work actively on a larger scale to question the 911 commission.

"To me, for a film to effect someone it has to make them get up and do something, make a commitment, take a risk, speak out and question to status quo.

"I don't think documentaries have any more social responsibility that fictional films.

"I do think documentaries owe their viewers the Ôtruth' as they see it.

There are great fiction films like [Jean] Renoir's RULES OF THE GAME or THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS that I think have had just as much influence on social and political relations as other documentaries in the past.

"I do hope this situation can change. I'd like to see documentaries having a greater impact on people."

- Sedika Mojadidi, Director, MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN (October 2006)

MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN screens Friday, November 3, 7:15 PM, and Saturday November 4, 1:30 PM.

A scene from MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN, directed by Sedika Mojadidi.

The complete "Do Docs Deliver?" series for AFI FEST Daily News, also available on www.AFI.com:

• Part 1: SCREAMERS director Carla Garapedian (November 1)
• Part 2: MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN director Sedika Mojadidi (November 3)
• Part 3: BACK HOME director J.B. Rutagarama (November 5)
• Part 4: A CRUDE AWAKENING -- THE OILCRASH co-director Ray McCormack (November 5)
• Part 5: NO SWEAT director Amie Williams (November 7)