Groundbreaking Film Garners Top Honors at Sundance International Film Festival

UTAH, January 25 (Quqnoos): If it seemed an unusual choice to make a documentary about a television music show modelled on American Idol, the jury is now definitely out with "Afghan Star" winning two of the top prizes at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA. Judges at one of the key international film festivals, ranked alongside the Tribeca, Venice, Berlin, Cannes and other international film competitions, that make up the elite circuit on the way to the Golden Globe and Oscar awarded the film both the World Audience Award for Documentary Prize

and its director, English film maker Havana Marking, the World Cinema Directing Award. It is the first time any Afghan film has ever won the highest accolades at Sundance, the cinema forum created by renowned American actor and director Robert Redford.

The film produced by Kaboora Productions, tells the story of four aspiring artists, two women and two men, competing for a music recording contract, where the top finalists are selected by popular acclaim, through teletext voting by a national audience.

But the film is not merely the tale of would be show business hopefuls. As the gripping story unfolds, "Afghan Star" becomes a meditation on the resilience of the human spirit and the triumph of art and talent.