Wolf and Sheep

In the remote Afghan village where eleven-year-old Sediqa and Qodrat live, time seems to stand still. Men and women have their own roles and don’t mix. This segregation starts at an early age when girls tend the goats and boys drive away the wolves with slingshots. But Sediqa – who is excluded because it is said her grandmother was enchanted by a snake – would prefer to join the boys. And Qodrat is mocked by the other kids because his mother has re-married as the third wife of an old man. These two outcasts find comfort in one another’s company, until the gossiping villagers start interfering. Meanwhile, the mythical Kashmir Wolf – half beast, half goddess – casts her shadow over the village.    
Director Shahrbanoo Sadat grew up in such a village. She brings her early years to life in a mixture of ethnography and subtle social criticism, with a generous dose of magical realism. Due to the unstable situation in Afghanistan, she shot the film in Tajikistan.