A re-creation and multimedia conception of the film Like Eagles (Mānand-e ‘Oqāb)

In this performance, playwright/librettist Shaista Latif, composer Osama Shalabi, arranger Isak Goldschneider and the Land of Kush ensemble imagine a multimedia re-creation and conceptualization of Like Eagles (Mānand-e ‘Oqāb): the first feature film produced in Afghanistan. An exquisitely surreal vision of Kabul in the 1960s, it follows a young girl as she wanders through the city on a journey from her hometown to attend a day of national celebration.

In light of subsequent tragic events in Afghan history, the project confronts Western stereotypes of Afghanistan in a stage work combining music, text and film.

Performers:

Shaista Latif (actor/director/writer)

Osama Shalabi (oud and electric guitar)

Isak Goldschneider (clarinet)

Adrianne Munden-Dixon (violin)

Anna Atkinson et Gen Heistek (violas)

Mark Molnar (cello)

Presented as part of La Semaine du Neuf Festival  in collaboration with Groupe Le Vivier.

Developed with the support of the New Works Incubator Programme of the Association of Opera in Canada and the Conseil des arts de Montreal.

We would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts de Montreal for their support.

We would like to thank the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the SOCAN Foundation for their support.