Freedom in frames: photographing an Afghan refugee's Olympic dream

In an intimate and surprising series, French photographer Amandine Lauriol skilfully captures the multifaceted life of Marzieh Hamidi, a young taekwondo athlete and Afghan refugee in France. Her exhibition "Azadi" – Freedom – is showing at this year's Urban Eye photo festival in Corbeil-Essonnes outside Paris.

Lauriol has been taking portraits of sportspeople for many years, especially in the field of taekwondo – a Korean martial art she herself practiced competitively for 18 years.

She met Hamidi when she was photographing members of the French taekwondo team in 2023.

Lauriol straight away saw the potential for a documentary about this dynamic 21-year-old woman, who was forced to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban returned to power in 2021. Hamidi, who used to compete for the Afghan taekwondo team, had found a new home in France.

Her extraordinary journey is the embodiment of azadi – the Persian word for freedom, which inspired the title of Lauriol's exhibition for the 12th Urban Eye (L'Oeil Urbain) festival.

"It's impressive to see the different facets of Marzieh's life," Lauriol told RFI.

"There's the athlete, who wants to participate in the Olympics and is training hard to reach that goal. Then there's the young woman who can dream again, in a country where women don't face the same difficulties… And then there's her combative side, not just on the mat but to have women's voices heard, especially in her country."

Lauriol assured Hamidi that the project was to be a collaborative effort, one that would offer a well-rounded portrait – not just focus on her refugee status.

A life of contrasts

Together, the women explored the meaning of freedom and the sharp contrast between Hamidi's two lives. One of the photos is a double portrait showing her face, one side covered by a veil and the other wearing makeup, her hair bare.

Over the course of a year, Lauriol captured moments from Hamidi's life in France – starting with a rally in support of Iranian women on International Women's Day in Paris.

Scenes of everyday life with friends are contrasted with the photos of Hamidi at her taekwondo training sessions or speaking at Unesco.

One of the perks of working as an independent photographer is taking the time to get to know one's subject, Lauriol says.

"There's a lot of freedom in how we can deal with a subject. Obviously there are journalistic codes to respect but we can choose the angle, the technique," she says.

Lauriol, who is represented by the Hans Lucas agency, has travelled the world to unearth stories of amazing people and places. She lingers with her subjects for months at a time, seeking to capture authentic emotions. 

Olympic fire

Her humanist approach to Hamidi's story fitted neatly into the global theme of the photo festival, which this year adopted the slogan "La Flamme" – "The Flame", in reference to the Paris Olympics. As well as the Olympic torch, the term invokes the spark, the fire burning inside each athlete.

The theme also explores how sport is used as a political statement and display of resilience in troubled times – the same spirit that Lauriol sees driving Hamidi forward to compete and stand up for women in her country.

The festival showcases the human side that connects all sports: the pain, the disappointment, the joy, the difficulties and the victories. There is also the spirit of fair play, equality and inclusiveness.

When it comes to the Paris Games, Lauriol is enthusiastic. She remembers covering the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, when strict health rules due to the Covid pandemic kept spectators away: it wasn't the same atmosphere, she says, but as a photographic project, it was extremely exciting – “the holy grail” of events.

Now she'll be watching Hamidi's career closely to see if her Olympic dream will come true.

“Azadi” is one of 10 free exhibitions on display as part of the Urban Eye festival (L'Oeil Urbain) in Corbeil-Essonnes, until 11 May 2024.