BOOK INFO
Cloth, 12 X 11 In. / 124 Pages / 50 Color
ISBN 9780989798105
List Price: $49.95
“...(images) not just capturing rebirth but the final waking moments of a culture in Afghanistan that may be disappearing forever under the prodding pressure of the West.”,
- Photo - Eye, May 22, 2014
“...a book that captures the rebirth of a once vibrant cinematic culture, bridging the past and the future.”,
- ARTINFO, May 25, 2014
Also featured by Time Lightbox: The Best Photobooks of 2014
Photographs by Jonathan Saruk
In a nondescript concrete building along a busy street in the old city of Kabul, young men file into a dark, smoke-filled theater and take their seats. Soon, the projector roars to life, and the audience begins to laugh, whistle, and even dance as the latest Pakistani cinematic drama illuminates the big screen before them. In his new book, The Forbidden Reel, American-born photographer Jonathan Saruk documents the cinemas of Kabul-entertainment venues that were banned under the Taliban but have sputtered back to life since the US invasion 12 years ago. The Forbidden Reel provides an alternative narrative to life in this violence-plagued city, where going to the movies is, for many, an escape from the harsh reality that lies outside.