directed by Yalda Afsah and Ginan Seidl
Germany 2023, 82', German/Dari with English subtitles
followed by a conversation with Yalda Afsah & Ginan Seidl

FARAH (2023) is a film about adolescence, about growing into and out of the various pre- or self-determined images of oneself. The filmmakers Yalda Afsah and Ginan Seidl first met their protagonist Farahnaz in Afghanistan in 2013: Raised as a boy according to the Afghan “Bacha Posh” tradition, Farahnaz has been confronted from an early age with a binary structured society and the roles it assigns based on gender. The film FARAH follows Farahnaz between ages 17 and 20 through her daily life in Germany. As she navigates quotidian situations – attending school, living in a household run by her sister, hanging out with friends, choosing the right outfit, or deciphering letters from the immigration office –, Farahnaz self-confidently positions herself in a society different from the one she was born into, yet with its own set of constraints. In documentary footage as well as Farahnaz’ own TikTok videos, she renegotiates the roles socially assigned to her – as an immigrant in Germany, as a “girl in boys’ clothes”, as a family member, and as a friend.