Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence says she has overcome her fear of producing a new film about the oppression of women under the Taliban regime because “the alternative is much more horrific.”
The Hollywood star co-produced a documentary called Bread & Roses alongside Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, which follows the impact on three women of the 2021 withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.
The film reportedly began three years ago, when Lawrence was shocked by news of the plight of Afghan women and the prospect of seeing them forgotten.
The 33-year-old commissioned Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani, who has not returned to Kabul since the Taliban regained control, to direct the project and film the in-person testimonies.
“Obviously it was scary to reach out to Sahra and offer to get her funds and equipment back,” Lawrence told the Guardian.
“There were a lot of people in my life who didn’t want me to get involved. It’s scary and overwhelming, but the scariest possible outcome is to ignore it and pretend like nothing is happening.
She continued: “I understand and sympathize with the response to the freeze.
“I have to fight it myself. But the alternative is all the more horrible because the Taliban are a terrorist organization for the world.
“And if we ignore the rights of women everywhere, it makes the world more dangerous. »
Lawrence, who won an Oscar in 2013 for her role in Silver Linings Playbook opposite Bradley Cooper, hoped the film, from the perspective of Afghan women, would mean “it’s not just a flash of history in a pan “.
“These women need the world to witness so they do not suffer in vain, and we must pressure our governments to hold the Taliban accountable,” she added.
Bread & Roses is on Apple TV+ and in select theaters starting June 21.