THE VOYAGE OF THE WOMEN OF ZARTALE

US PREMIERE

Shot against the stunning landscape of rural Afghanistan, Claude Mourieras's film gives the audience entry into the intimacy of new-found friendships developed in the crucible of modern medicine-witnessing the poignant, often humorous, sometimes jaw-dropping glimpses of a country coming to grips with its place in a modern world.

The women of Zartale, Afghanistan must travel for a full day by foot, or if they're lucky by donkey, to the clinic for treatment for the tuberculosis that grips their small village. Their burka-clad journey provides the backdrop for Mourieras's visually stunning old-world versus new-world exploration.

In the western medical clinic and the overflow tent where whole families wait alongside the patient, the beliefs of a people come to be tested. Friendships between men and women are formed that cannot exist outside of the shelter of tuberculosis treatment. New political views and the arrival of new technologies are counterbalanced by the ever-present tug of fundamentalist Islamic traditions. The medical wisdom of the Mullahs is frequently at odds with the new treatments espoused by the western-trained doctors. The women of Zartale, stuck in the midst of their tuberculin condition, are caught in the middle. Their physical journey from village to clinic is a metaphor for the people of Afghanistan's struggle between the familiarity of tradition and the potential of modernity.

-Nina Gilden Seavey

DIRECTOR BIO
Claude Mourieras was born on September 27, 1953 in Lyone, Rhone, France. Well-known for his ARTE documentaries, the French-German director has made numerous documentaries including LE PRET, LA POULET ET L'OEUF (2002), DE PETITS RIEN (1999), HELENE GRIMAUD, PIANISTE (1997), SALE GOSSE (1996) AND MONTALVO ET L'ENFANT (1989). His films DIS-MOI QUE JE REVE and TOUT VA BIEN ON S'EN VA were Director's Fortnight selections at the 1998 and 2000 Cannes Film Festival, respectively.

Print Source:
Claude Mourieras, Novaprod
33 Rue du Faubourg St. Antoine
Paris, 75011
France
+33.15.33.33.353
nadine@novaprod.tv

6/17 at 1:00 PM

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