Amir: An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshawar, Pakistan
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Amir: An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshawar, Pakistan

In highly charged and tragic circumstances, music can be used in very direct ways.

7.0 / 10 1985 52mNR English
DocumentaryMusic

Storyline

Amir, shot during the height of the Afghan civil war in the 1980s, investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan refugees are expressed through their political songs dealing with the civil war in Afghanistan, with exile, with Afghan nationalism and with the Islamic revolution. In highly charged and tragic circumstances, music can be used in very direct ways, both to promote solidarity and as an agent of catharsis.

Cast & Crew

AM

Amir Muhammad

Self

Lead
SW

Shah Wali Khan

Self

SK

Satar Khan

Self

AW

A. W. Sultani

Self

What People Are Saying

4.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. John Baily's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
4.0
Every frame feels alive. Amir: An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshawar, Pakistan is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker