Eve Lamb
A group of young Afghani women who recently fled the oppressive rule of the Taliban have visited Castlemaine to play key roles in a new short film.
The three were all in Castlemaine to participate in filming of My Yellow Dress, a short art film being made by local creatives and filmmakers including Castlemaine’s Bruce Armstrong and Michael Harkin.
Castlemaine artist Jan Palethorpe came up with the idea for the film after first making a three-dimensional sculpture inspired by the Taliban’s unlawful seizing of power in Afghanistan last year.
“I thought wouldn’t it be great to do a film and get people actually involved,” she says.
“My partner, Bruce Armstrong, happens to work in film and he loved the idea,” says Jan whose sculptural piece will also feature in the film.
Jan got in touch with the Afghan Women’s Organisation Victoria who were “very pleased to be involved” and were able to put her in touch with the three young Afghani refugees who were forced to flee their homeland for their own personal safety.
Jan also jumped online to purchase a hijab that was used in filming scenes at Castlemaine’s Lot 19 arts centre last week.
“It was a very exciting day,” says Jan who also interviewed the three Afghani refugees about their harrowing experiences as part of Girls on Air, the radio show she co-hosts on Castlemaine’s MAINfm.
Jan says the film is titled My Yellow Dress in reference to just one of the many things that women impacted by the Taliban’s aggression can now no longer enjoy in life.
“It’s about oppression and about how these young women can’t be who they were before,” Jan says, also mentioning that local musician Duncan Graham is composing original music for the production.
She says the film is ultimately anticipated to screen on SBS and to be entered in various short film competitions.
