Jennifer Lawrence has been secretly working on a documentary about the Taliban

Jennifer Lawrence has been working on a secret documentary about the Taliban.

The upcoming film has made by Excellent Cadaver, the production company created by Lawrence and her friend Justine Ciarrocchi.

Created by filmmakers on the ground in Afghanistan, the documentary has now had its premiere at the Cannes film festival – having been shot mostly in secret.

Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo

Bread and Roses is a documentary about three women living in the war-torn region and shows how their lives are affected after the takeover by the Taliban.

The extremist group took back control of Afghanistan in 2021, following the collapse of the government.

Though many citizens tried to revolt against this, the Taliban quickly assumed control of the region and enforced a strict religious rule.

This included the banning of women and girls from many sectors of public life, such as education.

With most universities and schools shutting their doors to women, those who were left tried to protest and even set up their own underground schools.

Bread and Roses includes footage of women learning in a windowless basement, whilst another clip shows a woman bravely arguing back with a militia - with the shaky video being recorded on her mobile phone.

The documentary also focuses on the everyday lives of these women, as they adjust to their new existence in Kabul.

Excellent Cadaver

Afghani filmmaker Sahra Mani was able to document the harrowing weeks after democracy collapsed in the country, with Lawrence and Ciarrocchi serving as producers on the project.

Speaking about the documentary, Lawrence told the BBC: "My heart was beating so fast watching these women defy the Taliban.

"You don't see this side of the story, women fighting back, in the news every day and it's an important part of our film, and the stories of these women."

The Hunger Games actor also spoke about how she wanted the women to be in control of their own story, when making the film.

She continued: "They currently have no autonomy within their country. It is so important for them to be given the opportunity to document their own story, in their own way."

Whilst the film has shed an important spotlight on women in Afghanistan, Lawrence admitted that she still feels ‘helpless’ about the situation.

“There's not an end to this story," she said, "and you feel pretty much helpless when thinking about how to do anything about it. It's a hard thing to market."

Topics: TV and Film, Celebrity, Jennifer Lawrence, World News

Katherine Sidnell

Katherine is an entertainment journalist with a love of all things nerdy. Starting out writing Doctor Who fan fiction as a kid, she has gone on to interview the likes of Matt Damon, James May and Dua Lipa to name a few. Published in The Sun, The Daily Mail and Evening Standard - she now joins Ladbible as resident nerd in chief.

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