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Would you put your life on the line for your music?
RocKabul is a coming of age documentary which deals with youth identity and freedom of expression that existed on the precipitous of the fragile city of Kabul. It shows the strength of the human spirit as Afghanistan’s first and only metal band, District Unknown, reach out to the disenchanted Afghan youth, the expat community and eventually the outside world. However, by challenging this traditional Islamic republic, District Unknown literally put themselves and their fans in the firing line. The grassroots music movement which encouraged the participation of men and women alike ultimately crumbles under the weight of the conservative society that shadows them. Captured by Australian filmmaker, Travis Beard who lived in Kabul for seven years, the film features a side of Afghan life rarely shown in Western media.
RocKabul was funded by Screen Australia and US Embassy, Kabul. It is produced by Rockabul Pty Ltd in association with No Thing Productions, Argus, TigerNest Films and Gammaglimt. It has screened at more than 40 film festivals internationally, was nominated for Best Australian Documentary at the Sydney Film Festival and won Best Music Documentary at the Arizona Film Festival.
Directed by Travis Beard
Produced by No Thing Productions, Argus, TigerNest Films and UpNorth
Executive Producers: Travis Beard, Bill Gould, Leslie Knott and Clementine Malpas
Co-Producers: Christian Falch, Torstein Parelius
Directed by Travis Beard
Produced by No Thing Productions, Argus, TigerNest Films and UpNorth
Executive Producers: Travis Beard, Bill Gould, Leslie Knott and Clementine Malpas
Co-Producers: Christian Falch, Torstein Parelius
Would you put your life on the line for your music?
RocKabul is a coming of age documentary which deals with youth identity and freedom of expression that existed on the precipitous of the fragile city of Kabul. It shows the strength of the human spirit as Afghanistan’s first and only metal band, District Unknown, reach out to the disenchanted Afghan youth, the expat community and eventually the outside world. However, by challenging this traditional Islamic republic, District Unknown literally put themselves and their fans in the firing line. The grassroots music movement which encouraged the participation of men and women alike ultimately crumbles under the weight of the conservative society that shadows them. Captured by Australian filmmaker, Travis Beard who lived in Kabul for seven years, the film features a side of Afghan life rarely shown in Western media.
RocKabul was funded by Screen Australia and US Embassy, Kabul. It is produced by Rockabul Pty Ltd in association with No Thing Productions, Argus, TigerNest Films and Gammaglimt. It has screened at more than 40 film festivals internationally, was nominated for Best Australian Documentary at the Sydney Film Festival and won Best Music Documentary at the Arizona Film Festival.
WINNER Best Music Documentary Arizona Film Festival, US, 2019
NOMINATED Best Australian Documentary, Documentary Australia Foundation, Sydney Film Festival, 2018
Official Selection Grossman Fantastic Film and Wine Festival – Slovenia, 2019
Official Selection Lake County Film Festival – US, 2019
Official Selection Reeperbahn Festival – Hamburg, Germany, 2019
Official Selection Brooklyn Film Festival – US, 2019
Official Selection Doc Fest Munchen – Germany, 2019
Official Selection AIDC @ ACMI – Federation Square – Melbourne Australia, 2019
Official Selection Sharm El Sheik International Film Festival – Egypt, 2019
Official Selection Diorama Film Festival – India, 2019
Official Selection Mannheim Heildelberg International Film Festival – Germany, 2018
Official Selection Rokumentti – Finland, 2018
Official Selection Braunschweig International Film Festival – Germany, 2018
Official Selection Doc n Roll – UK Premiere, 2018
Official Selection Verona Film Festival – Italy, 2018
Official Selection Norway – Save the Children Refugee Conference, 2018
Official Selection Warsaw Film Festival – Poland Premiere, 2018
Official Selection /Slash Film Festival – Vienna – Austrian Premiere, 2018
Official Selection African Premiere – Festival Music Film – Johannesburg – South Africa, 2018
Official Selection Wave Rock Weekender Festival – Western Australia, 2018
Official Selection Off Cinema – Lago dei Cigni – Florence, Italy, 2018
Official Selection Soundtrack Festival – Cologne – Germany Premiere, 2018
Official Selection Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, South Korea, 2018
Official Selection Brunswick Picture House, New South Wales, 2018
Official Selection Revelation International Film Festival, Perth Australia, 2018
Official Selection Sydney Film Festival, Australian Premiere, 2018
Official Selection River film Festival, Padua, Italy, 2018
Official Selection Reykjavik Deathfest, Iceland, 2018
Official Selection Toyen Kino, Oslo, Norway, 2018
Official Selection NordicDocs, Trondheim, Norway, 2018
Official Selection Dokfest, Volda, Norway, 2018
Official Selection Cinemateket Film Festival, Trondheim, Norway, 2018
Official Selection Middle East Now Film Festival, Florence, Italy, 2018
Official Selection Titanic International Film Festival, Budapest, Hungary, 2018
Official Selection Inferno Extreme Metal Festival, Oslo, Norway, 2018
Official Selection Weesp Refugee Film Festival, Netherlands, 2018
Official Selection Kosmorama Festival – Trondheim, Norway, 2018
Official Selection Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2018
District Unknown: when heavy metal becomes a death sentence – Rolling Stone
‘Martyrs of Metal’ Chronicles a Metal Band in Afghanistan Railing Against the Taliban – IndieWire
RocKabul, a film featuring Afghanistan’s first heavy metal band – The National
Would you risk your life for heavy metal? – Double J
Travis Beard, director of RocKabul: Music is a Global Language – Haon
Afghan metal documentary Rockabul to premiere in London – Metal Hammer
