Farah (STRAZEkino + talk)

Documentary / DE 2023 / Director: Yalda Afsah, Ginan Seidl / 75 min.

The protagonist Farahnaz was raised as a boy according to the Afghan "Bacha Posh" tradition and confronted from an early age with a binary structured society and its gender-based role assignment. "Bacha Posh" is a practice that enables families without sons to fulfill the role required by the patriarchal system within the family context by disguising one of their daughters as a boy until puberty.

After Yalda Afsah and Ginan Seidl first met Farahnaz in Afghanistan in 2013, "Farah" follows her through her everyday life in Germany from the age of 17 to 20: at school, in her sister's household, hanging out with friends, choosing the right outfit or deciphering letters from the immigration authorities. Farahnaz reflects on the privileges that were taken from her and that she has reclaimed; how the girls' clothes became alien to her body, how she became alien to herself. Looking back, she realizes how life slapped her in the face: "You are a girl and this is not a dream. This is a man's right, time to wake up."

The film combines documentary footage with TikTok-style selfie videos and follows the protagonist in moments of self-dramatization, dreaming up self-images and the heartbreak when these dreams, big or small, shatter.

Afterwards, we invite you to a follow-up discussion.

Trailer: https://youtu.be/Ydem2o0adDk

Admission: from 7.30 pm
Start: 8 pm
Admission: free

The film will be shown in the original language with German subtitles.

A further education event organized by STRAZEkultur in the Kultur- und Initiativenhaus Greifswald e.V., as part of the intercultural week Greifswald 2025.