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Published by BenBella Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
When Sonia Nassery Cole set out to film The Black Tulip in her homeland of Afghanistan, she knew the odds were against her; she was told time and time again that filming inside a war zone would be impossible. What she didn't anticipate was how intent the Taliban and its sympathizers were on halting the film's production—the crew encountered extortion, government corruption, kidnapping attempts, and death threats, even with around-the-clock security. Her cinematographer fled after two days, and many others followed.
After 9/11, Cole wrote The Black Tulip, based on a true story of a real Afghan family. The plot was simple: After 2001, when the Taliban was routed, an Afghan family opened The Poet's Corner—a restaurant with an open microphone for all to read poetry, perform music, and tell their stories. But the Taliban didn't approve, and the family's new-found hope proved fleeting as it struggled to maintain the restaurant and its vibrant way of life. Selected as Afghanistan's official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Academy Awards, The Black Tulip is a modern portrait of Afghanistan that captures the plight and resilience of its people.
Without financial support from a studio or anyone else, Cole self-financed the film by mortgaging her home and selling her belongings. Then, with everything on the line, she left for Kabul to make the impossible possible and set out to gather the right people who would risk their lives and willingly be part of the production.
In Will I Live Tomorrow?, Cole gives an intimate look into what went on behind the scenes of making a controversial film in the heart of a war-ravaged country—the looming terror the Taliban creates among Afghans everywhere and the challenges and fear the cast and crew faced every day.
Will I Live Tomorrow? is a memoir about one woman's struggle to make a difference in a violent world.
After 9/11, Cole wrote The Black Tulip, based on a true story of a real Afghan family. The plot was simple: After 2001, when the Taliban was routed, an Afghan family opened The Poet's Corner—a restaurant with an open microphone for all to read poetry, perform music, and tell their stories. But the Taliban didn't approve, and the family's new-found hope proved fleeting as it struggled to maintain the restaurant and its vibrant way of life. Selected as Afghanistan's official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Academy Awards, The Black Tulip is a modern portrait of Afghanistan that captures the plight and resilience of its people.
Without financial support from a studio or anyone else, Cole self-financed the film by mortgaging her home and selling her belongings. Then, with everything on the line, she left for Kabul to make the impossible possible and set out to gather the right people who would risk their lives and willingly be part of the production.
In Will I Live Tomorrow?, Cole gives an intimate look into what went on behind the scenes of making a controversial film in the heart of a war-ravaged country—the looming terror the Taliban creates among Afghans everywhere and the challenges and fear the cast and crew faced every day.
Will I Live Tomorrow? is a memoir about one woman's struggle to make a difference in a violent world.
Product Details
- Publisher: BenBella Books (October 16, 2012)
- Length: 240 pages
- ISBN13: 9781937856878
Raves and Reviews
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""Sonia Cole took an extraordinary journey, at great personal risk, to tell one of the most important stories of our time. Her powerful act of conscience is a contribution to all our lives.""
—Marianne Williamson, New York Times bestselling author
""An amazing read, with beautiful illustrations in the midst of despair.""
—Natalie Cole, Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and performer
""With great determination to expose the dangers of women's lives in Afghanistan, the author … courageously placed herself in harm's way in order to speak for all the women who struggle daily to survive. This tale of desperation and hope is a compelling read.""
—Terry Semel, former chairman and CEO, Yahoo!; former chairman and CEO, Warner Bros.
""Sonia Cole recounts the making of her film The Black Tulip, the first feature film ever made by a woman in war zone Afghanistan and one of the first films made in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban. It's a dramatic story she tells with great passion.""
—Peter L. Bergen, author, Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden, from 9/11 to Abbottabad
""Will I Live Tomorrow? is an amazing account of turning a dream into a reality. Sonia Cole … had to be part-filmmaker, part-politician, part-psychologist, and part-general in order to pull off a miracle in pursuit of an artistic endeavor.""
—Roger Birnbaum, co-chairman and CEO, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
""A gripping eyewitness account of today's Afghanistan killing fields.… A firsthand narrative of a harrowing adventure within a death-defying experience amid the flames and fanaticism of the Taliban war.""
—Charles W. Stroud, cofounder and governing director, Afghanistan World Foundation
""At great risk, we told a story about the real-life terrors of living inside the war in Afghanistan while enduring those actual fears and dangers ourselves.""
—David McFarland, director of photography, The Black Tulip
""Will I Live Tomorrow? is defining our future. A brilliant and riveting work that warns the world if people of conscious and reason will not act for the sake of justice, Afghan history and culture will be hijacked by the Taliban. Brave, powerful, and a revelatory piece.""
—Farid Younos, author, university lecturer, women's rights activist, and Afghan-American television personality
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