Beneath a Taliban regime that censors journalism, documentary “Frame by Frame” follows the struggles of four Afghan photojournalists as they navigate their way through a society that has banned taking photos.
Viewers could watch the birth of a photography revolution in this inspiring and compelling documentary that takes you in beyond the realm of a free press country.
A sensational thrilling and aspiring documentary that is also shockingly touching and personal, “Frame by Frame” reminds people that facing difficult challenges at times often results in achieving what we most want in this world.
The film portrayed the four photojournalists as courageous and fearless individuals from Afghanistan unraveling the dirty secrets of the Taliban in a dictator and free press country.
As the Taliban regime fell free from power in 2001, free press emerged photography was permitted because both foreign troops and foreign media withdrew from the country.
Since the withdrawal of the media and troops, Afghanistan is left to mend on its own, and so are the journalists.
Set in a more modern and new Afghanistan raging with color and potential the documentary takes you on a journey with four photojournalists as they encompass through an emerging and risky media platform-rebuilding Afghanistan for the world and themselves.
Through intimate, touching and personal interviews, this film captures powerful and captivating photojournalism while unwinding never-before-seen footage of the Taliban regime through secrecy, the documentary binds the audience and the four journalists on their path in discovering the truth.
Bombach and Scarpelli capture photojournalism in today’s modern and rejuvenated Afghanistan.
The documentary is a profound work of the photographers’ commitment and hope in seeking their untold answers of the truth.
Bombach and Scarpelli observed Farzana Wahidy, one of the four photojournalists and the others at work in crucial moments and face challenges in the lines of their profession.
After the documentary, there was a Q and A panel within the co-director.
Alexandria Bombach co-director of “Frame by Frame” stated that our constitution protects journalism and all of us use journalism everyday as we citizens what citizen journalism is.
“The amendments and our constitution protects journalism we use the freedom of speech clause to our advantage all of the time and it is confusing but wonderful,” Bombach said. “The legislator in South Carolina suggested a bill that proposes that journalists should be registered to be a registry of journalists and the states would apparently decide on a decision who is a journalist and who isn’t.”
The only downfall is that the documentary needs a bit more sharpening and sprucing, because it gave you the sense of “Cloverfield” and “Zero Dark Thirty” where the camera is constantly out of focus, making it hard for the audience to follow through with the protagonists.
Afghanistan is remarkably picturesque, which is great. However, the film is at its strongest when it captures the illusion of the town’s suffrage from the the terror and battle wounds of war.