EA WorldView post analyzes Afghan films’ unique perspective

Afghanistan Special: Presenting “The Fruit of Our Labor: Afghan Perspectives in Film”
Saturday, October 1, 2011 | Author John Horne in EA WorldView: Afghanistan-Pakistan

The Fruit of our Labor: Afghan Perspectives in Film is a series of short documentaries offering a corrective to Western-centric accounts of life in Afghanistan. Focusing on issues of social and economic development, as documented and told by Afghans themselves, the films work to puncture typical mainstream perspectives centered on conflict, corruption and humanitarian relief. As such, they present intimate glimpses into routine struggles of employment, education and health and of accomplishments and failings at the level of community and infrastructure.

The ten documentaries, produced by Michael Sheridan for Community Supported Film, are available to watch online until 7 October, the 10th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan. They are also currently being screened in cities across America and have just been released on DVD. American audiences to date, observes Sheridan, have been “dumbstruck” by seeing a side of Afghanistan — the everyday life, difficulties and opinions of its citizens — routinely hidden in the view of the mainstream media. Indeed, for some, the films are simply unbelievable, given how removed they are from the national portrait painted by CNN, MSNBC and FOX… Read More