EXCLUSIVE: Le Pacte has boarded Chabname Zariab’s debut feature When She Hears The Bells (Les Clochettes de Kaboul), starring Golshifteh Farahani, set amid the 2021 Taliban takeover of Kabul, and is launching sales at the European Film Market, which starts this week.
The film, now in post-production, includes footage shot in Afghanistan. Farahani plays a widow working in a kitchen in Kabul who discovers it is actually a Bacha Bazi house where young boys are forced to dress in women’s clothing and dance in front of groups of wealthy, powerful men for entertainment and sexual exploitation. As the Taliban gains ground, she decides to help a group of young boys flee before the city falls.
Sayed Hashimi co-stars.
When She Hears The Bells is produced by France’s Alta Rocca Films, with Germany’s Starhaus Filmproduktion, Belgium’s Versus Production and Arte France Cinema. Le Pacte is handling French distribution, while Grandfilm will release it in Germany and O’Brother in Belgium.
Zariab, an Afghan writer-director based in Paris, wrote the script with her sister Parande Zariab.
Zariab said she wanted to shine a light on Bacha Bazi, a practice that remains widespread in certain regions. “It is a symbolic reflection of the state of this society, where laws enforce the separation of men and women and leave room for certain abuses, of which this is one of the most appalling,” she said.
The story also highlights the reality for women both before the Taliban’s return and since August 2021, when millions saw their rights erased and the world largely looked away. For me, telling this story is both a personal responsibility and an act of quiet resistance.”
Farahani, an Iranian native who also resides in Paris, has been a vocal voice of resistance against oppressive government regimes in the Middle East and a face of the fight for women’s rights.
Le Pacte’s head of sales Romain Rancurel told Screen: “Her portrayal of Leila lends undeniable strength and reach to both the film and the cause it champions. The fact the film also incorporates some scenes actually shot on location in Afghanistan, bringing images from inside the country rarely seen on the big screen, adds an additional layer of authenticity to the story.”
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