Jennifer Lawrence Produced Documentary About Women in Afghanistan as an ‘Antithesis of the 24-Hour News Cycle’

When the United States military withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 and the Taliban immediately retook control over the country, Jennifer Lawrence had an idea. She sought out a female Afghan filmmaker to document the lives of women as they attempted to resist a return to life under an oppressive rule based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

The result is the new documentary Bread and Roses, directed by Sahra Mani and produced by Academy Award winner Lawrence, 34, through her production company Excellent Cadaver. "I wanted to make it as an antithesis of the 24 hour news cycle," Lawrence tells PEOPLE, recalling that she worried how quickly news media and the public's attention would wane following the initial shock of Kabul's fall in 2021.

"Part of the devastation was knowing that in a matter of hours, this would be out of the news cycle and people would move on and forget what's happening to the people of Afghanistan, which is of course exactly what the Taliban wants," she says. Lawrence and producing partner Justine Ciarrochi were familiar with filmmaker Mani through her 2021 documentary A Thousand Girls Like Me, which followed an Afghan woman in her 20s seeking justice for sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father.

From 2022: In the Year Since the Taliban Took Back Afghanistan, Women's Rights Have Been Erased

"She was already in the process of getting equipment to women in Afghanistan [and] was already collecting footage," Lawrence says of Mani, who was able to escape Afghanistan in the days before the Taliban completely retook control of the country.

For Mani, Bread and Roses is a portrait of the mindset and attitude of women — some of whom she knew personally — in Afghanistan as the Taliban set out severely repressing women's rights. While three of the women featured in the movie have since left the country, the situation has worsened as the Taliban maintains its grip on Afghanistan more than three years after much of the footage in the documentary was captured. 

"It was not easy journey for us, for all of us, because we were facing a real human story of loss, resilience, and hope. But we did our best to tell their stories with authenticity and respect," Mani tells PEOPLE of directing the documentary. "So it was a challenging journey for us. Especially, it was a very emotional journey for us because we were witnessing that so many women were in prison, facing [arrest], kidnapping and some of them, killing. But the story of these three women is not only their story, but a story of more than 20 million women in Afghanistan that are facing the same situation."

Jennifer Lawrence Says Loved Ones 'Encouraged Me Not to' Be Involved in Doc About Women's Rights in Afghanistan

The film's executive producers include Pakistani women's education activist Malala Yousafzai, 27, who was violently targeted by the Taliban for speaking out in favor of women's education at age 15. "[She] was very inspiring for women in Afghanistan and especially for the girls because what [she faced] we faced also in Afghanistan," Mani says.

Of Lawrence, who flew to Sweden to work with Mani as she edited the movie, Mani adds, "We had a lot of discussion in the editing room. We laugh, we cry…. It was a wonderful collaboration and deep involvement for all of us."

Bread and Roses is now streaming on Apple TV+.