How to watch Bread and Roses, Jennifer Lawrence’s heartbreaking Taliban documentary

Malala Yousafzai and Jennifer Lawrence have teamed up to produce a poignant new documentary about the oppression of Afghan women by the Taliban. With its streaming release date coming up, here’s how to watch Bread and Roses. 

There’s plenty of important documentaries hitting streaming this month, from Ronan Farrow’s eye-opening Surveilled to the new Netflix deep dive on consumerism in Buy Now: The Shopping Conspiracy.

But Bread and Roses should be top of the watchlist. After the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021, Afghanistan’s government collapsed, leading to the country coming under the control of the Taliban and the reestablishment of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

In one fell swoop, women’s basic human rights were eradicated. Lawrence and Yousafzai’s documentary film explores the stories of Afghan women’s fight for autonomy under the Taliban’s oppressive regime. 

How to watch Bread and Roses

The 90-minute documentary will be available to stream on Apple TV+ from Friday, November 22, 2024. 

Bread and Roses’ global streaming release comes after its premiere on May 21, 2023, at Cannes Film Festival. 

What is it about?

Directed by Sahra Mani and executive produced by Malala Yousafzai and Jennifer Lawrence, Bread and Roses provides a poignant exploration of the lives of Afghan women after the Taliban’s resurgence in 2021. 

The film focuses on three women – Dr. Zahra Mohammadi, Sharifa Mowahedzada, and Taranom Seyedi – each of them navigating the oppressive restrictions imposed by the extremist regime.

Dr. Mohammadi, a dentist, is told to abandon her clinic but transforms her workplace into a hub for activism. Sharifa, once a government employee, faces a stifling life confined to her home. Meanwhile, Taranom’s activism leads to her exile and refugee status in Pakistan. 

The documentary also highlights the brutal crackdowns on protests, including women advocating for “work, bread, and education” who are met with water cannons, tear gas, and threats of violence.

A majority of the footage was captured in real-time by the three women using their cell phones, highlighting the immense risk they took and the bravery they showed. 

Bread and Roses captures not only the challenges Afghan women endure but also their resilience and determination to reclaim their rights. 

The film was produced by Lawrence and Justine Ciarrocchi under their company Excellent Cadaver. Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning female education activist, served as executive producer under her Extracurricular production banner.

Lawrence and Ciarrocchi hired filmmaker Sahra Mani after seeing her 2019 documentary A Thousand Girls Like Me, which looks at the issue of sexual violence and abuse against women in Afghanistan.

Malala Yousafzai and Jennifer Lawrence’s call to action

In an interview with the Guardian earlier this year, Yousafzai responded to the lack of responsibility from the US and the consequences of its military retreat. 

“It is a reality that breaks your heart. Why is there silence? Why is there inaction? Activists and storytellers cannot spend too much time thinking about it,” she told the outlet. 

“I think it’s the job of the people to hold their leaders to account and put more pressure on them. So I hope that people will begin to question their representatives and ask them what they have been doing. 

“What do they mean when they say they’re committed to gender equality – those nice fancy words – when they don’t take any action to protect women’s rights and girls’ education in Afghanistan?”

Yousafzai went on to highlight the prejudices in western society, stating, “Sometimes when people talk about Afghanistan or Pakistan they assume that this is normal, expected. But when women are systematically oppressed we should not excuse that based on religion and culture.”

In a new interview with the BBC, Lawrence – best known for her roles in Hollywood movies such as The Hunger Games – revealed why she chose to take on this project. 

After watching the news unfold in 2021, she explained, “I just felt desperate to do something. And cameras help with helplessness.”

Mani described how she came to obtain the footage for Bread and Roses without risking the women’s safety. 

“I spent time on the border of Afghanistan, to be able to be close to my team and to collect the material,” she said. 

“We built a team to train our protagonists how to film themselves and to do it in a safe way, so if their cell phones were checked by the Taliban, they don’t find out about it.”

Bread and Roses earns perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

Following its Cannes debut, Bread and Roses has earned shining reviews, resulting in a perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes score. 

Critics have praised the documentary for serving as a significant reminder of the fragility of freedom and giving a voice to those who are being silenced. 

The raw, on-the-ground footage offers an unflinching look at the plight of Afghan women. This perspective has been hailed for not only raising awareness but also pushing the audience to consider their own role in responding to these injustices.

What does Bread and Roses mean?

The title Bread and Roses originates from a political slogan used by suffragettes in the early 20th century, symbolizing the dual struggle for women’s rights to both material necessities and dignity. 

Inspired by James Oppenheim’s 1911 poem ‘Bread and Roses’, women’s suffrage activist Helen Todd used the line, “Bread for all, and roses too,” in her speech.

The term is often associated with the 1912 textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, where workers demanded fair wages (the bread) as well as better working conditions (the roses). 

This idea reflects the broader theme of human rights, emphasizing that survival is not enough without value and respect.

For more poignant documentaries, read about the 2022 film Navalny, Turning Point’s message on the dangers of nuclear weaponry, and how to watch To Kill a Tiger.