Feature Film ‘Fremont’ Captures an Afghan Refugee’s Efforts to Make a New Life in the Bay

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 6 September 2023

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fremont is home to the largest Afghan population in the United States, with over 66,000 people of Afghan descent in the city according to 2019 census figures. That number has likely grown since the withdrawal of U.S. forces from the country as tens of thousands fled Taliban rule. In his new feature film ‘Fremont,’ director Babak Jalali tells the story of a refugee and former translator for the U.S. military who recently settled in the Bay Area after fleeing her home. Donya struggles with guilt, insomnia and questions of what to do with her new life. We’ll talk about the film, the limits of a community’s ability to heal and how to move on from a traumatic past. Guests: Joseph Azam, board chair, Afghan-American Foundation - a non-partisan non-profit focused on advocating on behalf of Afghan American community Babak Jalali, director and co-writer, "Fremont" Anaita Wali Zada, actor, "Fremont" Eddie Tang, actor, "Fremont" Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for Key QBD Podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport. At SFO, you can shop, dine, and unwind before your flight. Go ahead, treat yourself. Learn more about SFO restaurants and shops at flysafo.com. Switch to Comcast Business Mobile and save hundreds a year in your wireless bill. Comcast Business, powering possibilities.
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0:24.5	Comparates two unlimited intro lines and lowest price 5D plans of top three carriers.
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0:32.1	From KKUD in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:48.4	In the 22 years since the United States invaded Afghanistan, there has been a stream
0:53.8	of refugees and immigrants
0:55.3	from Central Asia to the U.S. And nowhere is there a denser concentration of Afghan arrivals than
1:01.0	in Fremont, the medium-sized East Bay City. While we sometimes talk about the geopolitics
1:06.5	or refugee aid programs, it's harder for us to get at the internal psychological turmoil that
1:12.3	some battle, especially those who worked for and with the U.S. military. In a new feature film,
1:18.5	Fremont, a translator's quiet, tortured dilemmas takes center stage. We talk with the film
1:24.3	stars and director after this news. Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:40.3	Fremont's home to the largest Afghan population in the United States, more than 65,000 strong.
1:47.0	It's also the setting for a new feature film from director Babak Jalali, which tells a story of a refugee and former translator for the U.S. military who settles into an anonymous apartment building in Fremont and begins a new life working in a fortune cookie factory and trying to face the guilt and freedom that comes with her new life.
2:08.6	The film is not what you might expect.
2:11.7	It's dry and stylish and cross-cultural.
2:14.9	To me, it has as much in common with the great indie films like Jim Jarmush or even Kevin Smith as it does with more mockish immigrant tales.
2:23.4	With humor and with a lot of intensity, it asks, what do you even do in the great openness of America when you know what America has done?
2:34.1	We're joined this morning first by director and co-writer of Fremont.
	...

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