YASMEEN’S ELEMENT

With Eshal Fatima

The beauty of northern Pakistan’s mountainous Hunza Valley region is the breathtaking backdrop to a colorful tale of an earnest child’s pursuit of her lost homework assignment, unaware that the Taliban is enacting a restrictive new plan for her future in her very own village.  Loosely adapted from journalist Jeffrey E. Stern’s non-fiction book The Last Thousand, this drama follows Yasmeen, a lively 12-year-old eager student in search of her teacher’s home while encountering baffled neighbors, preoccupied medical workers, and men dismissive of her mission.  The film’s allegorical aspect is subtle yet ultimately clear when the next school day dawns for Yasmeen and her friends.  In Urdu with English subtitles.