Finally! Our 17th season begins with the 2006 documentary, "Afghan Star"!

A cold and rainy spring have set back the launch of our 2011 season, but finally beautiful weather has arrived and our movie series can begin again for its 17th year!

We held a vote for our opening film and the documentary "Afghan Star" won. It's the story of the "American Idol"-style singing competition that is trying to bring this country into the 21st Century--but not without some resistance from more traditional members of the society. As the website, afghanstardocumentary.com, says: "After 30 years of war and Taliban rule, Afghan Pop Idol is taking the nation by storm. But this is more than just a TV show. In Afghanistan, you risk your life to sing."

As you'll see in the trailer, a lot of the country is excited about this singing competition. But many of the more traditional Afghans--largely men, it would appear--still think women should stay covered up and out of sight. And if they do sing, they should be killed.

From what I've read, this is a gripping, yet uplifting documentary. At this time, Rotten Tomatoes has given it a 100% rating. So far, no one has written a less than positive review of it. It has 57 "thumbs up" reviews and 0 negatives. Read more here.