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Writing Hawa

Play trailer 2:37 Poster for Writing Hawa 2024 1h 24m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Filmed over five years, WRITING HAWA follows three generations of Hazara women from the same family in Afghanistan. With unique access and empathy, director Najiba Noori films her mother Hawa and niece Zahra in their aspirations to free themselves from patriarchal traditions. Forced into marriage at the age of 13 to a much older man, the now 52-year-old Hawa spends her time confined to the home to care for her ailing husband. Fed up with the drudgery and isolation of her daily life, Hawa sets out to open a small textile business. WRITING HAWA is an essential testimony of women's resilience in the face of oppression and the dreams cut short by the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.

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Writing Hawa

Critics Reviews

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Phuong Le Guardian Oct 29, 2025
3/5
Throughout this touching film, moments of progress and setbacks often collide. Go to Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl Mar 5, 2026
6/10
[Noori's] filmmaking is basic but effective, conveying a sense of daily life in a country that’s often in the headlines for geopolitical reasons. Go to Full Review Olivia Popp Cineuropa Jan 17, 2026
Its dually joyful and realist end titles snap the story into place: frankly, we are only privy to this piece of powerful filmmaking out of somewhat extraordinary circumstances. Go to Full Review Susan G. Cole POV Magazine May 8, 2025
Enhanced by Afshin Azari’s beautiful soundtrack featuring Afghan strings and percussion and bolstered by Noori’s interviews of family members and friends, it is a moving portrait of the filmmaker’s family struggling in crisis. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
Writing Hawa

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Cast & Crew

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Najiba Noori

Director

Rasul Noori

Director

Najiba Noori

Writer

Afsaneh Salari

Writer

Ali Rasul Noori

Writer

Afsaneh Salari

Film Editor
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Writing Hawa

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Writing Hawa

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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmed over five years, WRITING HAWA follows three generations of Hazara women from the same family in Afghanistan. With unique access and empathy, director Najiba Noori films her mother Hawa and niece Zahra in their aspirations to free themselves from patriarchal traditions. Forced into marriage at the age of 13 to a much older man, the now 52-year-old Hawa spends her time confined to the home to care for her ailing husband. Fed up with the drudgery and isolation of her daily life, Hawa sets out to open a small textile business. WRITING HAWA is an essential testimony of women's resilience in the face of oppression and the dreams cut short by the Taliban's rapid takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Director
Najiba Noori, Rasul Noori
Screenwriter
Najiba Noori, Afsaneh Salari, Ali Rasul Noori
Production Co
Een van de jongens, Tag Film, EOdocs
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Persian
Runtime
1h 24m
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