LIDF

I Was Worth 50 Sheep

Nima Sarvestani | Sweden | 58 mins

The story of a brave girl, Sabere, and her struggle for life. Through the prism of her family this heart-rending and thought-provoking film brings the tragedy that is Afghanistan vividly to life. Sabere, has a price on her head. When she was just ten years old she was sold to a man forty years her senior. After seven years of confinement and abuse she escaped to find temporary refuge in a women’s sanctuary.

Now she again has a price on her head as her husband will kill her on sight. The camera picks up Sabere at the point where she has re-made contact with her family. She faces the decision of whether to stay in the safety of the sanctuary or whether to rejoin her family. For the family it is a dangerous game of cat and mouse as they move from location to location, always trying to stay one step ahead of her murderous husband. Only divorce can set Sabere free. But Islamic law will only grant a divorce if she can bring her husband to court. But there is a problem. Her husband is a Taliban man far beyond the reach of the law. With desperation mounting, Sabere’s step-father proposes an audacious plan. They try to mount a “sting” that would simultaneously capture her husband and free Sabere from his clutches. But for it to work, Sabere will have to meet her husband. And all the while the family dreads receiving the telephone call that will seal the fate of Sabere’s ten-year-old sister. I Was worth 50 Sheep is a simple and moving story of one family’s struggle to survive. I Was worth 50 Sheep was filmed over a period of two years in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, by award-winning director Nima Sarvestani.
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