Bread & Roses offers an unflinching look at the lives of Afghan women following the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021. Co-produced by Jennifer Lawrence and Malala Yousafzai and directed by Sahra Mani, the film draws on footage captured by the women themselves, documenting their daily resistance and collective struggle for dignity, education, and freedom.
Through the eyes of three protagonists – Zahra, Taranom and Sharifa – the film provides a rare perspective from inside a regime that has systematically erased women from public life. Bread & Roses is both a cry for justice and a testimony to courage.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A exploring the film’s context and the wider importance of creative expression in the face of injustice.
Premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in a special screening, Bread & Roses received wide international recognition. The film was awarded the 2025 Peabody Award for Documentary, nominated for the Cinema Eye Honors Award for Outstanding Achievement in Broadcast Film, and shortlisted for the Golden Eye Award at Cannes, affirming its place as a landmark work in contemporary human rights cinema.
This exclusive event is presented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Counterpoints Arts as part of this year’s Refugee Week festival.
Christa Rottensteiner was appointed Chief of Mission of the United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in the United Kingdom in September 2022. She has over two decades of experience in humanitarian response, development and migration management, including leading IOM’s mission in Yemen. Prior to joining IOM, Christa held leadership roles at the UK’s Department for International Development (now Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office), focusing on migration and post-conflict reconstruction in countries such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. She began her career with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the British Red Cross. An Austria national, Christa holds a LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Essex and a MA in Political Science from the University of Vienna.
Sahra Mani is an award-winning Afghan filmmaker whose work focuses on justice, gender equality, and human rights. She holds a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from the University of Arts London. Her films have been screened globally and have earned widespread recognition, including over 25 awards for her feature-length documentary A Thousand Girls like Me. Sahra is also known for her contributions to impact campaigns and film education in Afghanistan, where she previously lectured at Kabul University and led grassroots film initiatives to support Afghan women’s voices in media. Bread & Roses continues her mission of challenging oppression through powerful visual storytelling.
Host: Ornella Mutoni is a documentary director, producer and cultural worker whose work explores collective healing and the legacy of trauma. Her debut film The Things We Don’t Say premiered at Aesthetica Short Film Festival in 2024 and was later distributed by the Guardian. Ornella has worked with award-winning production companies including Lightbox, Hidden Light and Acme TV, and contributed to documentaries for broadcasters across the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and the US. As part of Counterpoints Arts’ PopChange initiative, she curates film programmes and advocates for more inclusive narratives about migrants and refugee in film and television.
Bread & Roses
Directed by: Sahra Mani
©: Bread and Roses LLC
Presented by: Apple Original Films
an Eyan Foundation presentation
in association with: Extracurricular
Executive Producers: Farhad Khosravi, Malala Yousafzai
Produced by: Jennifer Lawrence, Justine Ciarrocchi, Sahra Mani
Camera: Sami Razmandeh, Sahra Mani, Taranom Seyedi, Zahra Mohammadi, Sharifa Movahidzadeh, Sahar Beigi, Mahnaz Shir Mohammadi
Editor: Haideh Safiyari
Music by: Masoud Sekhavat Dost
Sound Design: Mehrdad Jolokhani
Sound Recordist: Sami Murtaza
USA 2023
90 mins
Digital
For further info about the festival go to refugeeweek.org.uk
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Programme notes and credits compiled by Sight and Sound and the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
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