Jennifer Lawrence produced the new Apple TV+ documentary “Bread and Roses” despite her family and friends encouraging her not to get involved with the project as it centers on the Taliban. The documentary, directed by Sahra Mani, premiered at Cannes earlier this year and follows three women as they fight to recover their autonomy amid Taliban oppression following the fall of Kabul in August 2021.
“My first reaction was to do what the Taliban did not want us to do, which was to give access and facilities to the people on the ground to capture what was happening in real time,” Lawrence recently told “CBS Mornings” about producing the documentary. “I can’t imagine not being able to take a taxi or not being able to listen to music.”
As Mani explained, the plight of Afghan women under Taliban rule has been so severe that they are not allowed to go to work or even walk the street without a chaperone. “They can’t sing. They can’t play music or make a film inside Afghanistan. They cannot go to a restaurant and buy food,” she added.
Given the subject matter, Lawrence said that “my family and friends definitely encouraged me not to [produce the film]. It’s dangerous. Of course it is. But there is 20 million women whose lives are in danger.” The Oscar winner has also been combating online trolls claiming she is not educated enough to be involved with this subject matter.
“[Trolls] always say different things,” Lawrence said. “I did a ’60 Minutes’ interview once where I explained that I dropped out of middle school, so I technically am not educated. A common one with this [documentary] is ‘why is someone without an education trying to talk about politics?’ To that I say it’s not political, it’s peoples lives.”
“It’s political in the sense that you should push your congress people and you should get involved to make our government more accountable,” she added, noting that the UN needs to better recognize gender apartheid. “I don’t find it political. I am educated in filmmaking. I am educated in telling stories.”
Variety gave “Bread and Roses” a positive review out of Cannes, calling it “righteously angry” and writing: “This film tackles an urgent and timely topic through a committed on-the-ground perspective, capturing the experience of three people, Zahra, Taranom and Sharifa, whose lives as they knew them were effectively ended when the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 2021.”
“Bread and Roses” streams Nov. 22 on Apple TV+. Watch Lawrence’s full interview on “CBS Mornings” below.
