The story of Karim Asir, known as the Charlie Chaplin of Afghanistan, was met with the audience at the documentary screening organized in collaboration with the Department of Film Production and Broadcasting of the Faculty of Communication of Near East University and the Department of Journalism. The documentary “Laughing in Afghanistan” directed by Anneta Papathanassiou, one of the well-known actresses and directors of Greece, was screened at the event held at the Accessible Cinema Hall of the Faculty of Communication of Near East University.
The documentary, which met with journalism students at the event, aimed to make the audience empathize with the Afghan people by starting from the life of an Afghan artist. The event, which was held with the intense participation of the students, continued with a conversation and Q&A session.
Theater and art overshadowed by conflicts in Afghanistan…
Director Papathanassiou stated that the documentary shooting processes have a structure that changes differently from movies and shared information about the production phase of the documentary. Papathanassiou stated that the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan made the filming process of the documentary unexpectedly difficult due to its attitude towards art and the fear of the people. Papathanassiou provided information about the starting point of the documentary and stated that they set out to introduce the audience to art works, an unknown aspect of Afghanistan, which is known for terror and conflicts, and that the documentary turned into a story about Karim’s struggle. Papathanassiou said, “I wanted to ensure that the audience empathizes with the Afghan people by showing the life of an Afghan artist. Afghanistan has faces such as comedy, theater and art. However, these aspects are overshadowed by conflicts. In this project, I also aimed to introduce the Afghan people’s resilience and interest in art to the world.” Papathanassiou also provided information about her future works and emphasized his interest in human rights and stated that she has plans to produce content that draws attention to this area.
Karim Asir, Afghanistan’s “Charlie Chaplin”: He used art as a means of resistance, received death threats…
Papathanassiou stated that the main character of the documentary, Karim Asir, known as Afghanistan’s “Charlie Chaplin”, stands out as an artist passionately devoted to art despite the difficulties in his country, and said, “I met Karim while he was a theater instructor, and he quickly gained international recognition by using humor and performance art as a means of resistance. However, this success caught the attention of the Taliban, which put his life in danger and caused him to receive death threats.”
Who is Director Anneta Papathanassiou?
Anneta Papathanassiou graduated from the Department of Economics at the University of Athens and received a diploma from the E. Hatzikou School of Drama and Cinema. In addition to her acting and directing career, she continued her artistic development by studying theater at HB Studio and New York University. Papathanassiou, who has two books on theater, contributed to art with the independent theater she founded in the center of Athens. Known as a director for her feature-length documentaries focusing particularly on human rights issues, Papathanassiou has won international awards in this field and has made significant contributions to the development of documentary cinema by serving as the president of the Hellenic Documentary Association between 2022 and 2024. Her selected filmography includes important documentary productions such as “Laughing in Afghanistan”, “Europe – Dream”, “Playing with Fire”, “Fairies of the Hindu Kush”, “Qadir – An Afghan Ulysses”, “After the Tsunami – Sumatra” and “Living is Beautiful”.