The phrase “new normal” comes to mind when watching Elhas Ehsas’ short film, Yellow. A young woman (Afsaneh Dehrouyeh) steps into a Chadari store in Kabul in Afghanistan to purchase a Hijab, a full-body veil. The young salesman (Elham Ehsas) is warned by the store owner (Ahmad Jan Mano) to stop playing his musical instrument so as not to draw the attention of the Taliban, who may be passing down the street.
If you were to read the dialogue of Yellow, you would essentially see a simple transaction between a customer shopping for a veil and trying to find one in the correct size. But filmmaker Ehsas tells a much bigger story in the quiet moments, the body language of the woman, and the look of sadness coming over a beautiful face.
“A young woman steps into a Chadari store in Kabul in Afghanistan to purchase a Hijab, a full-body veil.”
The story is set not more than two years ago, when the Taliban reclaimed rule over Afghanistan. For years, Afghan women were given great freedoms, education, elevated societal roles, and the ability to walk down the street unaccompanied by their husbands…I mean, guardians. In an instant, those freedoms were removed, and the progress women had made over the years vanished.
Elhas Ehsas’ Yellow powerfully and heartbreakingly captures this transition to an archaic “new normal,” and I dare you not to feel the tragic nature of this change for millions of strangers living in a world far from our own.
Yellow will screen at the 2023 Palm Springs International ShortFest.
