Jennifer Lawrence-backed documentary on Afghan women premieres at Cannes 2023

As the world watched Kabul fall and the Taliban take over in 2021 following the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan, Jennifer Lawrence and producer Justine Ciarrochhi got busy looking for ways to support women in the country. 

"Jen's first response was to find an Afghan filmmaker and give them a platform," Ciarrocchi told The Hollywood Reporter.

They eventually found director Sahra Mani whose 2019 documentary A Thousand Girls Like Me looked at a sexually abused woman's quest for justice. The result was the three collaborated on a documentary called Bread and Roses. 

On Sunday the documentary about the daily lives of three women after the Taliban's resurgence premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in a special screening. "This film has a message from women in Afghanistan, a soft message; please be their voice who are voiceless under Taliban dictatorship," said Mani at the premiere.

The documentary has been backed by Excellent Cadaver, a production company set up by Lawrence and her producer friend Justine Ciarrocchi.

The director said in an interview on the Cannes website that she wanted to show the reality of how drastically life has changed under the Taliban women, even if filming was difficult. "Now that women can no longer leave the house without the veil, I thought we should tell their stories," she said.

The safety of the camera crews and the people filmed was of top priority, said Mani, who currently lives in France.
"The way in which their lives have changed under the Taliban is an everyday reality for us, it's life under a dictatorship, a cruel reality we cannot ignore."