Hot Docs 2009

Kabul, Afghanistan, 2003. A year before the country's first open presidential election. Malalai Joya, a 25-year-old woman, stands before a room of committee members gathered to consider the future of the Afghan constitution and denounces them as warlords. The room falls silent and then erupts in fury. This dramatic scene begins Joya's political career and serves as our introduction to Enemies of Happiness. We rejoin Joya two years and several assassination attempts later as she campaigns for a seat in Afghanistan's national assembly. Protected by armed guards and a burka, she bravely goes about her political affairs by educating women on their right to vote, mediating domestic disputes and protecting young girls from ominously arranged marriages. Enemies, which was awarded the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary, is a fresh and gripping film about an extraordinary woman and her determined pursuit of political and social justice.