Afshin, his father explains to him, is now the man of the house. The father, an ex-soldier, has to leave the country for security reasons. His barracks became a Taliban target; hardly anyone survived the attack. The teenager Afshin now bears the responsibility for the ever-leaking roof of the house; he has to do the shopping and water the withered tree. He also has to look after his little brother Benjamin.
Abas, the bus driver, struggles with his debts. The chaos of the Afghan capital is making his daily life more and more difficult. To forget his problems, he sings songs and seeks refuge in drugs.
Above all this, the dusty sky of Kabul hangs low and painterly. Suicide bombings are a part of daily live.
In his debut film, Aboozar Amini composes sensitively observed situations and equally poetic and painful impressions from everyday life in Afghanistan into a cinematic symphony.
CREW
Director: Aboozar Amini
Script: Aboozar Amini
Cinematography: Aboozar Amini
Editing: Barbara Hin
Sounddesign: Jeroen Goeijiers
Color correction: Stefano Bertacchini
Production: Silk Road Film Salon, Color of May
Distributor: jip film & verleih
Filmography Aboozar Amini
2018 Kabul, City in the Wind (88 Min., Film award Global Perspectives, 34. DOK.fest München – international competition, Special Jury Award – IDFA Amsterdam, u.a.)
2018 Best Day Ever (15 Min., Tunesia factory programm of Directors` Fortnight)
2016 Where is Kurdistan (23 Min., IFFR Rotterdam)
2015 LFS Angelus Novus (25 Min., IFFR Rotterdam Premiere, The Tehran International Short Film Festival, The Middle East Now Festival, u.a., Winner of many awards)
2011 On the String of Forgetfulness (52 Min., Nederlands Film Festival)
2010 KabulTehranKabul (Wildcard Award Dutch Film Fund Winner)
When I was a little boy, my uncle had a bus. My greatest pleasure was to drive with him once from Barchi (West Kabul) to Pamir Cinema. The expressions on people’s faces became more sinister. My uncle’s smile also disappeared. The bus had new bullet holes every day.
When I fled Afghanistan as a teenager and immigrated to the Netherlands, the bus tour with my uncle has remained as the best memory of my childhood ever since. In 2009, I returned to Afghanistan. As a stranger. Completely disconnected from this chaotic city.
Kabul is in non-stoppable climax of bombing where overdosed drugs offer people the only escape from the never-ending wars and unknown future. Since Western powers entered Afghanistan in 2001, films commissioned by NGOs created a stereotype of Afghanistan that is far from its true face. Back to Kabul after living in the West for 20 years, I realise, many unsolvable conflicts there come from the mentality of Afghan society itself. In this film, I do not show any shocking events, rather I present meaningful details of the lives, whose pains are muted in bombs and overdosed opium. Afshin (12) is doomed to be born in this broken city, like Edmund in Germany year Zero (1948). He has no clue what is going on around, while violence is becoming part of his innocence. What made me escape Kabul 20 years ago is what Afshin still has to deal with today!
FESTIVALS & AWARDS
2018 Special Jury Award – IDFA Amsterdam
2019 Vision du Réel, Nyon
2019 CPH:DOX Kopenhagen – NEXT:WAVE Winner
2019 Middle East Now Film Festival in Florence – Opening Film
2019 DOCVILLE – International Competition
2019 DOC.fest München – International Competition
2020 Filmpreis Globale Perspektiven- Winner