April 18, 2025 • 17 mins
What happens when cultural identity, activism, and groundbreaking storytelling converge? Amber Afzali brings this powerful intersection to life as she joins us to discuss her starring role in "Rule Breakers," the inspiring Angel Studios film that chronicles Afghanistan's first all-girls robotics team.
Born to Afghan immigrant parents and raised in America, Amber shares her unique journey of balancing dual identities while developing a deep passion for her cultural heritage. This passion eventually led her to study international relations with a focus on Afghanistan at the University of Pennsylvania, laying the groundwork for both her activism and, unexpectedly, her acting career. When the opportunity to audition for "Rule Breakers" emerged, it represented the perfect union of her academic interests and creative aspirations—a chance to tell an Afghan story that defies stereotypes.
The film itself marks a significant departure from typical portrayals of Afghanistan in Western media. Rather than centering on conflict and war, "Rule Breakers" celebrates the determination, brilliance, and resilience of young Afghan women breaking barriers in STEM fields. Amber portrays Esen, a shy hardware engineer whose character arc mirrors the actress's own childhood journey of finding her voice. Working alongside established actors like Phoebe Waller-Bridge and forming genuine bonds with her castmates created what Amber describes as a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a debut feature film role.
Through our conversation, Amber reveals how the on-screen chemistry among the actresses playing the robotics team naturally evolved from their shared backgrounds and mutual support—mirroring the very dynamics portrayed in the film. This authentic connection has resonated deeply with audiences worldwide as "Rule Breakers" continues to inspire viewers through its theatrical run and on the Angel Guild streaming platform.
Ready to be moved by a story of breaking barriers against all odds? Follow Amber's journey on Instagram @AmberAfzali, check out "Rule Breakers" on Angel Guild, and join us in celebrating the powerful intersection of art, activism, and authentic representation.
Want to be a guest on Living the Dream with Curveball? Send Curtis Jackson a message on PodMatch, here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/1628631536976x919760049303001600
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, if you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:24):
I interview guests that teach,motivate and inspire.
Today, I am joined by actressand activist Amber Afzali.
Amber is going to be playingone of the lead roles in the
Angel Studio indie film that'shighly anticipated, called Rule
Breakers.
This film is based onAfghanistan's first all-girls
(00:47):
robotic team, and Amber is goingto be playing one of the team
members.
She is also a passionateactivist and she is really
passionate about this film.
So we're going to be talking toher about the film and
everything that she's up to asfar as activism.
So, amber, thank you so muchfor joining me today.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well, why don't you start off by telling the
listeners a little bit aboutyourself?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, absolutely so.
My name is Amber Afzali.
I am starring in the film RuleBreakers.
I play Esen.
I was born in Vegas but now Ilive in California.
I moved when I was fairly youngI wasn't acting earlier to kind
of break me out of my shell.
My parents put me in but Ididn't pursue it as a career or
(01:35):
get back into it.
Really until recently I went toUniversity of Pennsylvania,
studied political science andpsychology and right, I'm just
always excited to find newprojects that really connect
with me on an emotional level,on a cultural level or just
something that I think is veryentertaining.
So I'm very excited to be hereand I'm very excited to talk a
(01:59):
little bit more about the filmand about my experience.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well, before we get into that kind of tell the
listeners about you know yourparents and your journey that
you know you guys went throughso you can get to where you are
now.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Absolutely so.
My parents.
They're both Afghan immigrants.
They came from Afghanistan at afairly young age.
Out of Afghanistan to my mom,went to Germany.
My dad had a couple stopsbefore making his way to
California and I think when theyhad us, something that they
really wanted to make sure thatwe had was an appreciation for
(02:36):
our culture and understanding ofthe language and just being
able to balance the Afghanidentity with being an American
as well, and that kind ofbrought me, you know, with all
of the things that werehappening with Afghanistan as I
was growing up.
It kind of led me to a path ofbeing really interested in the
(02:58):
Afghan community and Afghanistanitself and all of the turmoil
in the region, but all of theincredible things that also come
out of that region.
And so it led me to a placewhere I was very passionate
about learning more about myculture.
And so I decided to studypolitical science with a
concentration in internationalrelations in order to focus on
(03:18):
Afghanistan and on the SouthAsian Middle Eastern region.
And I was studying that inuniversity and my parents have
always been supportive ofanything that I've set my mind
to.
They've always been very proudthat I'm just being myself and
stepping into my true nature,and so when the opportunity
arose for me to continue or tostart acting again, they were
(03:44):
absolutely supportive.
They didn't know in whatcapacity I would be doing this,
if I would be leaving behind myeducational background or if I
would be juggling both, anddefinitely was the latter.
I decided to juggle both andthey were very proud when I my
first project was a project thatrelated so strongly to my
passion for Afghanistan, for theculture, for the people and for
(04:08):
just highlighting what Afghangirls can do.
So that was a very excitingproject, I think, for all of us,
in that I could connect all ofmy interests into one beautiful
piece of art, and they've beenvery supportive of my acting
career from the get-go, butespecially since that project.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Well, you also are an activist.
You know you're a verypassionate activist, so tell the
listeners you know about youractivism and why you're so
passionate about it.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I think I'm.
You know, I never consideredmyself to be an activist when I
was growing up and when I wasspeaking up on Afghanistan or
when I was sharing myexperiences being an Afghan
American girl or when I was justtrying to learn more about
Afghanistan and a byproduct ofthat was my classmates ended up
learning more because I wouldask those sorts of questions.
So at the time I honestlythought it was just something of
(05:04):
my curiosity that kind of ledme to this place, and I think
the more that I've learned aboutsort of the stereotypes of that
region, the injustices fromthat region, so many different
things, I just became more andmore passionate and it fueled my
activism.
It fueled how much I wanted totalk about the situation, how
much I wanted to do for mycommunity, and so since then
(05:27):
I've worked with refugeecommunities that are
predominantly Afghan.
I've been a part of the AfghanAmerican community organization
in the ways that I could be.
I have studied Afghanistan in myclasses so that I could raise
awareness about it and I'vewritten several papers on the
refugee experience and thosethings, I think, help me get a
(05:50):
better from the academic side,help me get a better
understanding of what theoriesthere are, what opportunities
there are and where the gaps arefor my community, and so my
goal now is to just be able tospeak up on where those gaps are
and hopefully be able to fillthem in whatever way that I
community.
And so my goal now is to just beable to speak up on where those
gaps are and hopefully be ableto fill them in whatever way
that I can.
And the best way, I think, foryouth who might have limited
(06:12):
resources or limited funds, tobe able to be an activist for
the community is just to raiseawareness and speak up and be a
part of their community.
And so that's really what I'vebeen trying to do these days and
I am very grateful that I'vebeen able to do that now with
this project specifically andthat's been very exciting that
Rule Breakers has been kind ofamplifying the Afghan American
(06:34):
experience, you know, with theactors, as well as the Afghan
experience with the incrediblestory of the Afghan dreamers.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Okay, Well, let's jump into talking about the film
Rule Breakers.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Kind of tell us about the film, how you got the role
and how this film came aboutteam and it is a story of
(07:09):
resilience, it is a story ofhope and it's a story of
showcasing women just, you know,breaking rules, breaking
barriers and defyingexpectations.
And the character that I playas Esen, she is one of the
hardware engineers you know onher team.
She is very shy and her storyarc is of her finding her voice
by relying on the women that arearound her, by relying on the
(07:33):
beautiful support system thatshe's found and built within the
Afghan Dreamers team, so she'sable to find her voice and it's
a beautiful journey thathighlights how important it is
for young girls to find theirvoice, especially when they're
from regions that may notencourage them to use their
voice.
And I loved playing Essen.
How I got the role of Essen wasthrough an audition that my
(07:55):
manager had sent over.
I actually auditioned for Taraand Essen and ended up getting
callbacks for Essen, which I wasvery excited for.
And it was just a process of,you know, trying to relate to
the character, trying to connecton that cultural level and also
trying to connect.
From my personal experience asbeing shy, like I said, my
(08:15):
parents threw me in actingclasses when I was young to
break me out of my shell, and sothis was something that I kind
of drew that experience from ofhow young girls kind of are able
to break out of their shells,and so I drew on my experience
to play SN, ultimately did acallback while I was on my
spring break trip in PuertoVallarta and finally we had some
(08:39):
chemistry reads and after that,in April, my manager at the
time called me and said that howwould I like to go traveling
around the world to film thismovie?
And I think I screamed and Iwas like you're lying, there's
no way.
This was my first audition,actually, so I just didn't
expect it to happen that quickly.
And when it happened, I wasover the moon.
(09:02):
And I was especially over themoon because I was so grateful
that there was a project onAfghanistan that wasn't centered
on war, that wasn't centered onthe terrible things that have
happened there, or that wasn'tcentered on, you know, military
and men from other regionscoming into the country and that
dynamic.
It was about the women.
(09:23):
It was giving women a voice.
It was giving women, you know,not only did it give them screen
time, but it gave them screentime in such a beautiful and
authentic way that highlightedthe Afghan experience as an
Afghan dreamer that highlightedhow beautiful the culture can be
as well, and it was in a verybiased, bleak view of
(09:43):
Afghanistan.
So I was very grateful and Iran to my dorm apartment at the
time and called my parents on aFaceTime call so I could record
their reactions when I told themand they were so thrilled.
They were thrilled.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Well, tell us about some of the great actors that
you played alongside in the film.
You know kind of let thelisteners know about that and
what that was like.
You know being able to workwith those actors and actresses.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Absolutely so.
I worked first off the team ofgirls that I worked alongside,
so myself being one of the girls.
Then we have Nina Hosseinzadeh,sarah Malalro and Maryam Saraj.
They're all such beautifulwomen beautiful, beautiful,
incredibly talented women whoare so supportive, and they are
the definition of, you know,finding a community of women
(10:36):
from similar, shared backgroundsthat just support and uplift
you.
And a lot of people are talkingabout the chemistry through on
screen and whether that was realor not.
That was 100% real.
We were all very close and weall got along very well.
And, yeah, I always say that Iwas spoiled for my first time on
set because, honestly, I lovedworking with them.
I absolutely loved working withthem and to this day, I'm still
(10:59):
in contact with some of themand I'm very grateful to have
gotten the chance to workalongside them.
And we were all coming fromdifferent experience levels too,
but for the most part, this wasour first feature film project
that not for all of us and sothis was a very special moment,
kind of felt like we were theAfghan Dreamers team having our
own journey.
Our own experiences, for thefirst time, are shared Traveling
(11:23):
abroad for this project that wewere so passionate about.
Also, coach, coach Ali, playedby Nourine Ghulam Ghaz.
He is incredible.
He is such a talented andauthentic and deep, sincere
actor.
So very grateful I got to workwith him.
We both spoke the same dialectof Dari or Farsi, and so we were
(11:44):
able to connect very, veryquickly and, have you know, that
language really helps bringcommunities together, I think,
and so we were able to bond overthat shared language and I'm
very appreciative of that.
And he's just an incredibleactor with so much wisdom.
He really was like our bigbrother on set and so that was
beautiful to work with him aswell.
Nicole Boucheri with him aswell.
(12:10):
Nicole Boucheri, stronggrounded, she's incredible, you
know.
She really brings so much lifeto Roya, brings that really
strong qualities that Roya has,and I'm so grateful that I got
to see her work.
You know she's done someamazing projects.
We were very fortunate to haveher on this project with us and
kind of getting to learn fromher by watching her, and it was
beautiful.
And then Ali Fazal, alsoanother wonderful actor that we
(12:36):
got to work with, and I loveBollywood movies so I had
actually seen him before, so itwas very cool to be able to have
him on set with us, althoughthe time was brief, but he was
an incredible actor to work withand just always doing improv
jokes, so that was funny.
And lastly, phoebeWaller-Bridge she gosh, she's
(12:56):
incredible to work with.
It was very brief that we wereable to work with her, but I
think backstage I just spokeabout video games with her the
whole time, especially TombRaider, because that's one of my
favorites, and I think twoweeks later it came out that she
was writing the Tomb Raiderseries for Amazon, so I was
blown away.
But she's so genuine, shebrings such a warmth to set.
(13:17):
I'm glad I had to.
I got a scene with her and I gota chance to act with her and
just be in her presence andunderstand her acting process
and how laid back she is and howstrong you know she is as a
person, as an advocate for women, and she's just incredible to
work with.
And all the other actors wereincredible.
(13:38):
We had some great talent fromthe Budapest and Marrakesh
region, specifically the cafeowner, nasser Memarzia.
He's a fantastic actor to workwith.
There's so many great people onset and I think by being around
such talented, experiencedpeople I was able to get a crash
(13:58):
course, in acting on my firsttime on set, and I'm very
appreciative of that.
It was an opportunity of alifetime for a new actor.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Well, let the listeners know where they can
check out the film.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Absolutely so.
Rule Breakers was in theatersall throughout March.
It is still playing in theaterssome places as well, and it is
able to be streamed on the AngelGuild streaming platform, so
you could definitely check itout there.
And if you are an internationallistener, just stay tuned,
because there are someinternational releases happening
(14:36):
everywhere you know, atdifferent points in time.
So just stay tuned, follow atRule Breakers Film and follow me
at Amber of Zali, and I willdefinitely be sure to share when
we have other releases, but fornow, I think Angel Guild
streaming platform is a reliableone, but for now, I think Angel
Guild streaming platform is areliable one.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Okay, well, tell us about any upcoming projects as
you can that you are going to beworking on that listeners need
to know about.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
There's nothing I can share right now, but there are
definitely going to be someexciting things down the road,
so stay tuned.
Yes, follow my Instagram andthat's where you'll once I can
share, you'll be able to checkout exactly what it is that I am
up to, but I'm always excitedto play dynamic and challenging
characters and characters thatreally make people think or open
(15:24):
up a dialogue, like Essendon.
So hopefully audiences willstay connected with my journey
and we'll see what's next.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Do you have a website or just your Instagram at Amber
Just?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Instagram.
Yeah, I should get a website orsomething.
Instagram's my favoriteplatform right now out of all
the social media ones too, sothat's the easiest one to stay
in touch and connected with me.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Absolutely so close us out with some final thoughts.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Maybe if that was something I forgot to touch on
that you would like to discussor talk about, or any final
thoughts you have for thelisteners and I also hope that
audiences, when they watch thefilm, they leave the theaters
feeling inspired, feelingmotivated, and I hope that the
energy and the resilience ofRoya and the girls just flows
through you and flows throughanyone who's with you that's
(16:26):
watching it, so that you havethe courage and the
determination to pursue whateverdream it is you have, and
especially if, in STEM, we needmore women in STEM.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Absolutely.
Ladies and gentlemen, please besure to follow and keep up with
everything that Amber's up toon Instagram at Amber F Sali.
Check out the Rule Breakersfilm, follow.
Share this episode to as manypeople as possible.
Jump on your favorite podcastapp.
Check out the show, leave us areview, follow us.
(17:02):
Go to wwwcurveball337.com formore information on the Living
the Dream with Curveball podcastListeners.
Thank you for listening andsupporting the show.
Amber, thank you for all thatyou're doing and thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Thank you so much for having me Curtis.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
For more information on the Living the Dream with
Curveball podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with
Curveball, if you believe youcan achieve.
Welcome to the Living the Dreamwith Curveball Podcast, a show
where I interview guests thatteach, motivate and inspire.
(00:24):
I interview guests that teach,motivate and inspire.
Today, I am joined by actressand activist Amber Afzali.
Amber is going to be playingone of the lead roles in the
Angel Studio indie film that'shighly anticipated, called Rule
Breakers.
This film is based onAfghanistan's first all-girls
(00:47):
robotic team, and Amber is goingto be playing one of the team
members.
She is also a passionateactivist and she is really
passionate about this film.
So we're going to be talking toher about the film and
everything that she's up to asfar as activism.
So, amber, thank you so muchfor joining me today.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
Thank you so much for having me.
It's a pleasure to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Well, why don't you start off by telling the
listeners a little bit aboutyourself?
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, absolutely so.
My name is Amber Afzali.
I am starring in the film RuleBreakers.
I play Esen.
I was born in Vegas but now Ilive in California.
I moved when I was fairly youngI wasn't acting earlier to kind
of break me out of my shell.
My parents put me in but Ididn't pursue it as a career or
(01:35):
get back into it.
Really until recently I went toUniversity of Pennsylvania,
studied political science andpsychology and right, I'm just
always excited to find newprojects that really connect
with me on an emotional level,on a cultural level or just
something that I think is veryentertaining.
So I'm very excited to be hereand I'm very excited to talk a
(01:59):
little bit more about the filmand about my experience.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
Well, before we get into that kind of tell the
listeners about you know yourparents and your journey that
you know you guys went throughso you can get to where you are
now.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
Absolutely so.
My parents.
They're both Afghan immigrants.
They came from Afghanistan at afairly young age.
Out of Afghanistan to my mom,went to Germany.
My dad had a couple stopsbefore making his way to
California and I think when theyhad us, something that they
really wanted to make sure thatwe had was an appreciation for
(02:36):
our culture and understanding ofthe language and just being
able to balance the Afghanidentity with being an American
as well, and that kind ofbrought me, you know, with all
of the things that werehappening with Afghanistan as I
was growing up.
It kind of led me to a path ofbeing really interested in the
(02:58):
Afghan community and Afghanistanitself and all of the turmoil
in the region, but all of theincredible things that also come
out of that region.
And so it led me to a placewhere I was very passionate
about learning more about myculture.
And so I decided to studypolitical science with a
concentration in internationalrelations in order to focus on
(03:18):
Afghanistan and on the SouthAsian Middle Eastern region.
And I was studying that inuniversity and my parents have
always been supportive ofanything that I've set my mind
to.
They've always been very proudthat I'm just being myself and
stepping into my true nature,and so when the opportunity
arose for me to continue or tostart acting again, they were
(03:44):
absolutely supportive.
They didn't know in whatcapacity I would be doing this,
if I would be leaving behind myeducational background or if I
would be juggling both, anddefinitely was the latter.
I decided to juggle both andthey were very proud when I my
first project was a project thatrelated so strongly to my
passion for Afghanistan, for theculture, for the people and for
(04:08):
just highlighting what Afghangirls can do.
So that was a very excitingproject, I think, for all of us,
in that I could connect all ofmy interests into one beautiful
piece of art, and they've beenvery supportive of my acting
career from the get-go, butespecially since that project.
Speaker 1 (04:29):
Well, you also are an activist.
You know you're a verypassionate activist, so tell the
listeners you know about youractivism and why you're so
passionate about it.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I think I'm.
You know, I never consideredmyself to be an activist when I
was growing up and when I wasspeaking up on Afghanistan or
when I was sharing myexperiences being an Afghan
American girl or when I was justtrying to learn more about
Afghanistan and a byproduct ofthat was my classmates ended up
learning more because I wouldask those sorts of questions.
So at the time I honestlythought it was just something of
(05:04):
my curiosity that kind of ledme to this place, and I think
the more that I've learned aboutsort of the stereotypes of that
region, the injustices fromthat region, so many different
things, I just became more andmore passionate and it fueled my
activism.
It fueled how much I wanted totalk about the situation, how
much I wanted to do for mycommunity, and so since then
(05:27):
I've worked with refugeecommunities that are
predominantly Afghan.
I've been a part of the AfghanAmerican community organization
in the ways that I could be.
I have studied Afghanistan in myclasses so that I could raise
awareness about it and I'vewritten several papers on the
refugee experience and thosethings, I think, help me get a
(05:50):
better from the academic side,help me get a better
understanding of what theoriesthere are, what opportunities
there are and where the gaps arefor my community, and so my
goal now is to just be able tospeak up on where those gaps are
and hopefully be able to fillthem in whatever way that I
community.
And so my goal now is to just beable to speak up on where those
gaps are and hopefully be ableto fill them in whatever way
that I can.
And the best way, I think, foryouth who might have limited
(06:12):
resources or limited funds, tobe able to be an activist for
the community is just to raiseawareness and speak up and be a
part of their community.
And so that's really what I'vebeen trying to do these days and
I am very grateful that I'vebeen able to do that now with
this project specifically andthat's been very exciting that
Rule Breakers has been kind ofamplifying the Afghan American
(06:34):
experience, you know, with theactors, as well as the Afghan
experience with the incrediblestory of the Afghan dreamers.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
Okay, Well, let's jump into talking about the film
Rule Breakers.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Kind of tell us about the film, how you got the role
and how this film came aboutteam and it is a story of
(07:09):
resilience, it is a story ofhope and it's a story of
showcasing women just, you know,breaking rules, breaking
barriers and defyingexpectations.
And the character that I playas Esen, she is one of the
hardware engineers you know onher team.
She is very shy and her storyarc is of her finding her voice
by relying on the women that arearound her, by relying on the
(07:33):
beautiful support system thatshe's found and built within the
Afghan Dreamers team, so she'sable to find her voice and it's
a beautiful journey thathighlights how important it is
for young girls to find theirvoice, especially when they're
from regions that may notencourage them to use their
voice.
And I loved playing Essen.
How I got the role of Essen wasthrough an audition that my
(07:55):
manager had sent over.
I actually auditioned for Taraand Essen and ended up getting
callbacks for Essen, which I wasvery excited for.
And it was just a process of,you know, trying to relate to
the character, trying to connecton that cultural level and also
trying to connect.
From my personal experience asbeing shy, like I said, my
(08:15):
parents threw me in actingclasses when I was young to
break me out of my shell, and sothis was something that I kind
of drew that experience from ofhow young girls kind of are able
to break out of their shells,and so I drew on my experience
to play SN, ultimately did acallback while I was on my
spring break trip in PuertoVallarta and finally we had some
(08:39):
chemistry reads and after that,in April, my manager at the
time called me and said that howwould I like to go traveling
around the world to film thismovie?
And I think I screamed and Iwas like you're lying, there's
no way.
This was my first audition,actually, so I just didn't
expect it to happen that quickly.
And when it happened, I wasover the moon.
(09:02):
And I was especially over themoon because I was so grateful
that there was a project onAfghanistan that wasn't centered
on war, that wasn't centered onthe terrible things that have
happened there, or that wasn'tcentered on, you know, military
and men from other regionscoming into the country and that
dynamic.
It was about the women.
(09:23):
It was giving women a voice.
It was giving women, you know,not only did it give them screen
time, but it gave them screentime in such a beautiful and
authentic way that highlightedthe Afghan experience as an
Afghan dreamer that highlightedhow beautiful the culture can be
as well, and it was in a verybiased, bleak view of
(09:43):
Afghanistan.
So I was very grateful and Iran to my dorm apartment at the
time and called my parents on aFaceTime call so I could record
their reactions when I told themand they were so thrilled.
They were thrilled.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
Well, tell us about some of the great actors that
you played alongside in the film.
You know kind of let thelisteners know about that and
what that was like.
You know being able to workwith those actors and actresses.
Speaker 2 (10:13):
Absolutely so.
I worked first off the team ofgirls that I worked alongside,
so myself being one of the girls.
Then we have Nina Hosseinzadeh,sarah Malalro and Maryam Saraj.
They're all such beautifulwomen beautiful, beautiful,
incredibly talented women whoare so supportive, and they are
the definition of, you know,finding a community of women
(10:36):
from similar, shared backgroundsthat just support and uplift
you.
And a lot of people are talkingabout the chemistry through on
screen and whether that was realor not.
That was 100% real.
We were all very close and weall got along very well.
And, yeah, I always say that Iwas spoiled for my first time on
set because, honestly, I lovedworking with them.
I absolutely loved working withthem and to this day, I'm still
(10:59):
in contact with some of themand I'm very grateful to have
gotten the chance to workalongside them.
And we were all coming fromdifferent experience levels too,
but for the most part, this wasour first feature film project
that not for all of us and sothis was a very special moment,
kind of felt like we were theAfghan Dreamers team having our
own journey.
Our own experiences, for thefirst time, are shared Traveling
(11:23):
abroad for this project that wewere so passionate about.
Also, coach, coach Ali, playedby Nourine Ghulam Ghaz.
He is incredible.
He is such a talented andauthentic and deep, sincere
actor.
So very grateful I got to workwith him.
We both spoke the same dialectof Dari or Farsi, and so we were
(11:44):
able to connect very, veryquickly and, have you know, that
language really helps bringcommunities together, I think,
and so we were able to bond overthat shared language and I'm
very appreciative of that.
And he's just an incredibleactor with so much wisdom.
He really was like our bigbrother on set and so that was
beautiful to work with him aswell.
Nicole Boucheri with him aswell.
(12:10):
Nicole Boucheri, stronggrounded, she's incredible, you
know.
She really brings so much lifeto Roya, brings that really
strong qualities that Roya has,and I'm so grateful that I got
to see her work.
You know she's done someamazing projects.
We were very fortunate to haveher on this project with us and
kind of getting to learn fromher by watching her, and it was
beautiful.
And then Ali Fazal, alsoanother wonderful actor that we
(12:36):
got to work with, and I loveBollywood movies so I had
actually seen him before, so itwas very cool to be able to have
him on set with us, althoughthe time was brief, but he was
an incredible actor to work withand just always doing improv
jokes, so that was funny.
And lastly, phoebeWaller-Bridge she gosh, she's
(12:56):
incredible to work with.
It was very brief that we wereable to work with her, but I
think backstage I just spokeabout video games with her the
whole time, especially TombRaider, because that's one of my
favorites, and I think twoweeks later it came out that she
was writing the Tomb Raiderseries for Amazon, so I was
blown away.
But she's so genuine, shebrings such a warmth to set.
(13:17):
I'm glad I had to.
I got a scene with her and I gota chance to act with her and
just be in her presence andunderstand her acting process
and how laid back she is and howstrong you know she is as a
person, as an advocate for women, and she's just incredible to
work with.
And all the other actors wereincredible.
(13:38):
We had some great talent fromthe Budapest and Marrakesh
region, specifically the cafeowner, nasser Memarzia.
He's a fantastic actor to workwith.
There's so many great people onset and I think by being around
such talented, experiencedpeople I was able to get a crash
(13:58):
course, in acting on my firsttime on set, and I'm very
appreciative of that.
It was an opportunity of alifetime for a new actor.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
Well, let the listeners know where they can
check out the film.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Absolutely so.
Rule Breakers was in theatersall throughout March.
It is still playing in theaterssome places as well, and it is
able to be streamed on the AngelGuild streaming platform, so
you could definitely check itout there.
And if you are an internationallistener, just stay tuned,
because there are someinternational releases happening
(14:36):
everywhere you know, atdifferent points in time.
So just stay tuned, follow atRule Breakers Film and follow me
at Amber of Zali, and I willdefinitely be sure to share when
we have other releases, but fornow, I think Angel Guild
streaming platform is a reliableone, but for now, I think Angel
Guild streaming platform is areliable one.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Okay, well, tell us about any upcoming projects as
you can that you are going to beworking on that listeners need
to know about.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
There's nothing I can share right now, but there are
definitely going to be someexciting things down the road,
so stay tuned.
Yes, follow my Instagram andthat's where you'll once I can
share, you'll be able to checkout exactly what it is that I am
up to, but I'm always excitedto play dynamic and challenging
characters and characters thatreally make people think or open
(15:24):
up a dialogue, like Essendon.
So hopefully audiences willstay connected with my journey
and we'll see what's next.
Speaker 1 (15:33):
Do you have a website or just your Instagram at Amber
Just?
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Instagram.
Yeah, I should get a website orsomething.
Instagram's my favoriteplatform right now out of all
the social media ones too, sothat's the easiest one to stay
in touch and connected with me.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Absolutely so close us out with some final thoughts.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Maybe if that was something I forgot to touch on
that you would like to discussor talk about, or any final
thoughts you have for thelisteners and I also hope that
audiences, when they watch thefilm, they leave the theaters
feeling inspired, feelingmotivated, and I hope that the
energy and the resilience ofRoya and the girls just flows
through you and flows throughanyone who's with you that's
(16:26):
watching it, so that you havethe courage and the
determination to pursue whateverdream it is you have, and
especially if, in STEM, we needmore women in STEM.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Absolutely.
Ladies and gentlemen, please besure to follow and keep up with
everything that Amber's up toon Instagram at Amber F Sali.
Check out the Rule Breakersfilm, follow.
Share this episode to as manypeople as possible.
Jump on your favorite podcastapp.
Check out the show, leave us areview, follow us.
(17:02):
Go to wwwcurveball337.com formore information on the Living
the Dream with Curveball podcastListeners.
Thank you for listening andsupporting the show.
Amber, thank you for all thatyou're doing and thank you for
joining me.
Speaker 2 (17:12):
Thank you so much for having me Curtis.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
For more information on the Living the Dream with
Curveball podcast, visitwwwcurveball337.com.
Until next time, keep livingthe dream.
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