We watch all sorts of films, but recently FILMCLUB came to our school for a special event. I was really excited when we walked into our sports hall to see that it had been turned into a cinema!

I had a fantastic time watching a film called Afghan Star, which is a bit like The X Factor but in Afghanistan. It was really good, and a bit surprising too because I thought that Afghanistan was all about war, and people there didn’t live normal lives.

After the film we got to ask three special guests some questions about the country – the director of the film Havana Marking, 17-year-old Afghan TV presenter Jannat and Zahra who is a cultural advisor to the Afghan Embassy. It was really interesting to meet them and to learn about how people live in Afghanistan and about their culture. I also learnt that when the people of Afghanistan were ruled by the Taliban they became used to some really strict rules and even though the Taliban are no longer in charge some people still want to live by them. One of the things that surprised me the most were the things I learnt that weren’t about war and politics. It was really interesting to see that they have talent shows and that the whole country stops everything to watch it just like we do.

It was a great opportunity for us because it is so easy to believe everything you see on the news. Before I watched Afghan Star and spoke to the cultural ambassadors I thought that Afghanistan was just a country ruled by war, but I soon learnt that it does have its own culture and I realised how proud the Afghan people are of their country which was a surprising but good thing.

It was very cool that FILMCLUB came to our school and I can’t wait to see what films we are watching next in our film club.

See www.filmclub.org for more information and help in setting up your own film club in your school.

Below some FILMCLUB members talk about Cats & Dogs 2: The revenge of Kitty Galore