“You can split our audience into two groups,” said Christy Carpenter, vice president and chief operating officer of the Paley Center, which has locations in Beverly Hills and New York City. “Executives and members of the industry and the general public.” The New York Center houses an extensive collection of television memorabilia and an in-house theater for 200.
Frontrunner, a documentary film that tells the story of Dr. Massoud Jalal, had its New York debut at the Paley Center on March 30. Dr. Jalal was the first woman to run for president OF Afghanistan since the Taliban’s ousting after 9/11. Monday’s screening was the first time Dr. Jalal had seen the film, which debuted at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival.
Virginia Williams, filmmaker and director of the documentary, was looking for a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan to profile when she found Dr. Jalal, a pediatrician and mother.
“A woman is going to run for president six months after a woman couldn’t walk down the street without a burkha,” said Williams about choosing to focus on Dr. Jalal for the film.
The powerful, beautifully shot film tells the story of the struggle of the only Afghan woman who ran for president in the highly scrutinized democratic elections in 2004. Dr. Jalal had to deal with sexism, death threats, a rocket attack, and caring for a family, during her candidacy.
A panel discussion with representatives of various organizations that do work in Afghanistan followed the screening. The panel included Dr. Jalal, Dr. M. Nadir Atash, chairman and CEO of Emerald View Group, and Shireen Zaman, North Africa and Middle East director for Vital Voices. Rory O’Connor, co-founder and president of Globalvision Inc., mediated. The panel discussed the worsening situation in Afghanistan in light of a resurgent Taliban.
“We need to be happy about the small improvements,” said Shireen Zaman. “Girls are now able to go to school, whereas they were not able to before, women can now work outside of the home.” Zaman added that there is still much to be done in terms of literacy and maternal health, but that the funding is not there.
Following the discussion was a short question and answer session during which the audience was able to participate.
“We don’t know when we die but to die bringing a great idea to other people is to die with honor,” said Dr. Jalal in response to a question from an audience member about whether she feared the danger of running for president. “If you die thinking only of yourself then your death will have no meaning.”
The Paley Center regularly hosts public events. Upcoming events include “The Musicals of Lerner and Loewe, An Evening of Song and Television,” the New York debut of A Ripple of Hope, a documentary about the day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and “Radio Theater, From its Roots to its Future.”
