Many musicians fled Afghanistan after the Taliban imposed put a strict ban on music when they seized power over two years ago. Now, a musical exchange project is affording some of them the chance to play alongside musicians from Germany and Iran.
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00:00 Music leads the way, collectively.
00:05 Musicians from three different orchestras meet in one workshop.
00:09 Farida Ahmadi from the Afghan National Institute of Music,
00:13 Iranian musician Roshan Akrafani from the Baranboyn Saeed Academy
00:18 and Elizabeth Reuter from the German Youth Orchestra.
00:21 For Farida, Braga in the north of Portugal is a place of refuge.
00:26 She left Afghanistan to escape the Taliban and has been living here for a year.
00:31 Her parents stayed in Afghanistan.
00:34 It's a traumatic experience, but she draws comfort from music.
00:38 When I came to Portugal, I started playing violin again.
00:43 It was giving me the feeling of strength,
00:45 even with my family and friends being in a bad situation.
00:50 The musicians play together, speaking the language of music.
00:56 I noticed that we magically started to get into the same spirit and energy.
01:02 We're truly connected.
01:04 I got goosebumps several times while we were playing.
01:11 In the beginning, nothing seemed to be clear,
01:13 but then we started reaching the point of understanding.
01:17 Slowly the piece was taking shape, and everyone knows what to do.
01:21 That's a good experience.
01:25 Music is my tool.
01:31 I can use it to express anger or sorrow.
01:38 If we now compare from today morning time to now, something changed.
01:43 What happened?
01:46 Composer and conductor Simin Samawati rehearses improvisation to find a common sound.
01:57 It's a new experience for most of the musicians, but they're very open to it.
02:05 It's not so difficult that we need to struggle.
02:08 It starts with simple steps, and then slowly it comes together peacefully.
02:15 We're all on a level playing field.
02:17 To me, improvisation happens in the here and now.
02:20 We're all experiencing something new together.
02:26 In the evening, it's time for an excursion in Braga, filled with memories of the day.