I Was Worth 50 Sheep

(Nima Sarvestani, 2010, Afghanistan/Sweden, 90min)

Sabere, now sixteen, was only seven years old when her father died in war. Her uncle then inherited her. He sold her, when she was ten, to a 50-year-old man who made her pregnant four times, but each time she experienced a miscarriage. She fled from him and now lives in a safe house in Mazar-e sharif. Sabere’s mother was also inherited by her cousin. They have a daughter Farzaneh, now eleven. Her father, is selling her because of poverty. He is going to wait until she is fifteen, but the buyer’s family want to take her at once. They are afraid that Farzaneh’s father may run away together with her.This family’s days are filled with problems. Their hope is tied to CCA (The Co-operation Centre for Afghanistan). They have to find Sabere’s husband and compel him to divorce her, but he lives in an area controlled by the Taliban. Sabere’s buyer is saught by the police and her family helps the police to find and arrest him. But they fail to have Sabere divorced.

Director’s Bio

Nima Sarvestani 54, started his career as a journalist in Iran and has been concentrating on documentary filmmaking since moving to Sweden in 1984. He funded NimaFilm as Swedish Independent film production in 1987. Focusing on social and political issues, he is inspired by those who fight passionately for their cause.

Saturday, June 28, 2014, 2 PM