“The Breadwinner” is an incredible 2017 film based on true events, starring rising actress Saraa Chaudry as the voice of Parvana Alizai, an 11-year old girl living under Taliban rule set in 2001 Kabul, Afghanistan. Directed by Nora Twomey and produced by Angelina Jolie, “The Breadwinner” took home three Canadian Screen awards, an Emile award, and was also nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe. This film truly portrays the reality of life for women under Taliban rule, and it is a lesson to all about human rights and the oppression women faced nearly 25 years ago in Afghanistan.

The film is both fictional and based on true events, with Nora Twomey paying attention to specific details about the culture and lifestyle of Afghanistan when the Taliban took control. The main character, Parvana, is persecuted for her gender along with her mother Fattema and her older sister Soraya. Her father, Nurullah, is against Taliban ideology and continues to educate his daughters in reading Pashto and Dari, the main Afghan languages, despite it being illegal. When a violent Taliban soldier named Idrees arrests Nurullah for teaching the women of the house, Fattema, Soraya, and Parvana are left without any means to survive as they cannot go out without a male relative. Will Parvana be able to find a way to be the breadwinner for her family, or will they slowly suffer without means of food or water?

“The Breadwinner” is available on Netflix.