Hava, Maryam, Ayesha

Three women find themselves in the same, familiar predicament while negotiating completely different circumstances in director Sahraa Karimi’s impressive narrative feature debut set in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Hava lives in absolute servitude to her dismissive husband and demanding in-laws; news anchor Maryam has just left her unfaithful husband who nevertheless continues to pursue her; and Ayesha is in love with one boy but her family is preparing to wed her to another. All three are pregnant and have decisions to make. Karimi’s observant camera restricts us exclusively to the women’s point of view, etching each into a strong protagonist in her own right even as one story adeptly segues into the next. Gripping and beautifully photographed, this triptych lifts the veil on these lives to reveal the complexity just underneath demographics, assumptions, and stereotypes, whether set by the outside world or by those at home. (Mill Valley Film Festival)