Afghanistan Project

To amplify the voice and expertise of Afghans, Community Supported Film trained Afghans storytellers and journalists in documentary filmmaking.

The Fruit of Our Labor

Further Information on the Project

Building Local Capacity: Giving Voice to Afghans through Filmmaking

In November 2010 CSFilm completed an intensive 5-week training of 10 Afghans in documentary production. After three weeks of rigorous exercises, each student was required to develop and produce a character driven short documentary. The 10 remarkable films that they produced are grouped under the title The Fruit of our Labor: Afghan Perspectives in Film. These stories bring to life Afghan’s efforts to address their challenging social and economic conditions and provide a fresh perspective on the needs and issues of Afghans beyond the relentless battlefront coverage of western media.

Public Engagement

The Fruit of our Labor films were used in public engagement campaigns in Afghanistan and internationally for audiences hungry for effective economic development and peace-building strategies.

Next Steps

CSFilm and our Afghan partners are developing new initiatives that need your support.

Goals

  • CSFilm is working with local mediamakers and their organizations to develop a three year training, production and mentoring program.
    • Intensive documentary production training for storytellers in more remote geographic regions around Afghanistan. Male and female trainees will be selected from throughout the county and from a mix of ethnic backgrounds.  These trainees will have an interest in using video as a tool to raise awareness about their communities social and economic development issues.
    • Video editing training to strengthen local capacity in the technical and aesthetic practice of video and sound editing.
    • Mentoring in project and career development including course work in filmmaking business management, writing and marketing are needed by Afghan mediamakers.  These trainings will cover proposal writing and budgeting, business and financial management, contract negotiations and personnel management, accountability and report writing, and public engagement and distribution.  Over the following year students who complete this course work will be provided assistance with their job outreach or with starting their own independent production company.

Outcomes

  • Non-fiction mediamakers that welcome all ethnicities, women and men, and are attracted by a shared commitment to social issue documentary storytelling;
  • The completion of short stories that raise critical concerns and accomplishments of local communities;
  • A cohort of skilled documentary filmmakers who can find employment, while contributing to the future of Afghanistan through documentary films that deal with issues central to Afghan development;
  • Deeper community and institutional engagement in assessment and critique of development interventions, international aid and socio-economic policy.