In Shadows, Mary Ayubi tells the stories of female construction workers in Kabul, a policewoman in Kandahar and women enjoying a rare opportunity to socialize outside their homes in the shrines of Mazar-e-Sharif.

At an early-November screening hosted by USC Libraries, Ayubi answered questions about the making of the film and the events that forced her to flee her native country. Ayubi co-directed the documentary with British filmmaker Polly Hyman.

Ayubi is currently a Feuchtwanger fellow at the Pacific Palisades-based Villa Aurora’s program for writers in exile. The USC Libraries provide institutional support and assist with visas for writers in the program.

After leaving medical school at Kabul University, Ayubi joined a training program for journalists and filmmakers in 2002. Her work in the program – sponsored by the nonprofit media organization AINA – contributed to the documentary Afghanistan Unveiled.

She since has dedicated herself to documenting the lives of Afghan women – work she has pursued at a personal cost. “Afghan television stole Shadows and illegally broadcast it,” she said. “In one night, everything changed for me.

“God gave me the courage to make the film and hopefully change the lives of women in my country, but (Afghan) society clearly wasn’t ready for this film.”

After receiving death threats, Ayubi left Afghanistan. She also recounted the stories of several of her friends and colleagues – also women filmmakers and journalists – who were killed after expressing their views.

According to Ayubi, Shadows was controversial because it exposed improprieties at the Kabul University medical school. The film includes footage of Cheragh Ali, the dean of medical faculty, attacking Ayubi’s cameraman.

“While I was there,” Ayubi said, “350 students were failed out of school because of sexual harassment, corruption and bribery.” Those conditions also led to her departure from the university.

In addition, she said, many people did not like the film’s critical account of the rural practice of badd, in which families trade women to settle disputes. Shadows reveals an intimate view of the custom through discussions with two women who were given away after their brother killed members of another family.

During the filming of Shadows, Ayubi traveled extensively through rural areas. She did not wear a burqa on camera, and the hostile curiosity of male onlookers is evident in the footage. Ayubi said, “Whenever we traveled, we always carried burqas hidden in our bags, so that we could cover ourselves quickly.”

Ariana Delawari, a 2002 USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate, joined Ayubi at the screening. Delawari accompanied her parents when they returned to their native Afghanistan in 2002 to help rebuild the country.

When she met Ayubi at the AINA training program, Delawari recalled a class at USC about women filmmakers. “Mary reminded me of the pioneers we studied who had the courage to make films that men wouldn’t like,” Delawari said.

While in Afghanistan, Delawari helped start a chapter of the international nonprofit organization Women in Film.

“I’d been here at USC, where we have so many resources, and I felt a tremendous responsibility to make sure Mary continued to have the freedom and everything else she needed to do what she needs to do,” Delawari said.

Students were struck by Ayubi’s story and her portrayal of human-rights abuses against Afghan women. Carson High School senior Jennifer Iglesias said, “I really didn’t know how it was over there. We don’t hear much about Afghanistan in this country, and it really touched me.”

Two members of the Carson High School Human Rights Club, seniors Cynthia Casarez and Andrew Johnson, also were inspired by Ayubi’s film.

“We’d seen the film Osama before the screening and learned a little about conditions in Afghanistan,” Casarez said, “but we didn’t know about the corruption in the schools and the other problems Mary talked about.”

Casarez and Johnson wrote an article about Ayubi for the Carson High School newspaper Trailblazer and plan to share information on the club’s Web site.

Johnson added, “There’s so much work that needs to be done for the women of Afghanistan, and we want to help Mary stay in this country.”

Although Ayubi’s fellowship ends in December, she hopes to extend her stay to work on a film about Afghan women in the United States.

For more information about Ayubi, contact Zaia Alexander or Carola Donnerhak of the Villa Aurora at (310) 454-4231.