Press Conference: Liz Mermin
On Wednesday, 6 April 2005, a press conference was given by Liz Mermin (“The Beauty Academy of Kabul”) regarding her film which is being screened within the framework of the 7th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival – Images of the 21st Century.
Liz Mermin: The Beauty Academy of Kabul
Liz Mermin’s film follows the journey of a group of hair dressers from the USA that travels to Kabul in order to teach the women of Afghanistan how to do their hair. This is a project organized by big cosmetics companies and Vogue magazine, for the purpose of introducing these women to the beautification process, to learn the techniques and practical applications of hairdressing. The documentary closely watches the birth of this idea, the beauty seminars, recording the way these women who have lived under the rule of the Taliban understand this experience.
Referring to her motives for making this film, she said that on the one hand she wanted to explore the meaning of beauty within the framework of another culture, as well as a different political and social situation, and on the other hand – a far more political reason – she tried to explore the fact that some Americans set out to go to a foreign country without having bothered to first learn something about it, something that also predominates in the Bush government’s policies, and something to which she is diametrically opposed. Speaking about Afghan women and the impression she gathered of them, she stressed that she expected to be confronted with oppressed, pitiful and tragic creatures: “That was not however what I really found: Afghan women would tell tragic stories they laughed about, they were happy and full of energy and enthusiasm and particularly friendly to us”, she said characteristically and added: “it was obvious that their lives had completely improved and they were very happy about that fact, in spite of the fact that they still lived under bad conditions today, they hardly left their homes and were very restricted. Their life had improved because it had simply gotten peaceful”
Moreover, she did not omit to speak about the American women who went to Afghanistan and also lived this experience. “At first they were so absorbed with the process of setting up the Beauty Academy that they were not paying much attention to what was happening around them. But once this process was finished, they lived an experience which I believe, changed the way in which they see things”. The “Theater of the Absurd” of a Beauty Academy in Kabul was commented on by the creator: “Of course there were people who thought such an academy had no business being there given the situation in Afghanistan. However, I was surprised to learn that such academies existed even before the Taliban regime, and that some of the women who took the Academy courses had previously taken courses in Kabul’s previous academies.”
Moreover, referring to the restrictive conditions that are still prevalent – to a lesser degree – in the country, she explained that: “the beautification of women is not being done in order to attract men on the street, but so they can show this off to their friends and other women during social functions such as weddings, where men and women are in separate areas. The beautification in other words, is done so that they can feel better about themselves and this happened even under the Taliban regime, under the cover of the burqua.” Finally, speaking about the reception her film received from the American audience as well as the possible political repercussions, she stressed:
“Within the framework of the film’s audience there were professionals from the beauty industry who saw it as an instructional aid, but the wider audience as well who at first saw this as odd and absurd, a feeling that was changed in the end by the film itself. As far as the political level is concerned and any possible repercussions my film might have, I took care to express through it the fact that things continue to be very difficult for the women of Afghanistan, and that the restrictions they face are great. On the other hand though, it was obvious that some improvement had come with the fall of the Taliban. The wonderful thing for me, who hates the policies of the Bush government, is that the proposal to screen my documentary at the White House did not succeed, because then I really would have had to face a big dilemma.”
