»Right from the start, Afghanistan and the people there moved me very much. (…). The most impressive thing about them is their ›upright stance‹ – no matter whether there is a leg there or none. They are so decisive in both bearing and in look. Added to which, it is hugely inspiring to experience a country that has been afflicted by war for over 30 years but where the people, displaying such an enormous will to survive, have not yet capitulated and will never capitulate. This pride, such incomparable tenacity, just won‘t go out of my mind.«
– Helga Reidemeister

Hossein and Shaima have loved each other since childhood. As teenagers they were separated by war. They meet again in Kabul in the 1990s. Poverty forces Hossein to fight in the war. A shell splinter leaves him a paraplegic. Shortly afterwards, Shaima is sold in marriage to a man 40 years her senior. Shaima, who is the man‘s fourth wife, falls pregnant. But Shaima‘s husband still owes half the dowry, and so her father brings her back into the constraining patriarchal fold of the family, where she lives today with her fiveyear-old daughter. This situation doesn‘t prevent the two lovers from seeing each other as much as possible – even though this means going against their families‘ hard and fast rules. Caught on the horns of a dilemma, and in constant fear of revenge on the part of the male members of both families who adhere to the harsh tribal laws handed down from the Middle Ages, Hossein and Shaima struggle under the most difficult circumstances imaginable to hold on to their love. This film describes the infringement of a taboo, the outcome of which is still uncertain. In an environment where war and want have dealt heavy blows on compassion and humanity and the family is the only remaining social bond, the chances of personal happiness are very slim indeed.

Awards for für ›Mein Herz sieht die Welt schwarz – Eine Liebe in Kabul‹
Identity and Diversity Award, Ourense International Film Festival 2009 | Grand Prix du Festival ânûû-rû âboro, Festival international du cinéma des peuples New Caledonien 2009 | Prix Anna Politkovskaïa – Mellieur long-métrage documentaire, Festival International de Films de Femmes Créteil 2010