FRONTRUNNER Documentary

By: Virginia Williams
Submitted: 10/09/2008

The setting: Afghanistan's first democratic election--ever. In the aftermath of 9/11, America's military might has set the stage. But who will determine the fate of democracy in Afghanistan?

“Vote for the mother,” Dr. Massouda Jalal shouts to the crowd.

FRONTRUNNER tells the heroic story of this medical doctor and mother of three. As a children's advocate, she defied the murderous Taliban regime. Now, she boldly runs for president -- the only woman in a field of 17 candidates. In a dramatic turn of events, she holds the fate of the country's first presidential election in her own hands.

Amidst death threats and bomb attacks, Jalal doggedly campaigns from the back of a taxi, in mosques, in homes, in busy markets and in the streets. Her courage shows that it’s the dangerous work done by ordinary Afghans—women and men—that will determine the fate of a newly born democracy.