Afghanistan - LookListenLocal

Engaging with Afghan voices as the world disengages

Summary

It is the 10th anniversary of Community Supported Film’s distribution of the films made by Afghans during our training project, The Fruit of Our Labor – Afghan Perspectives in Film.

It is also the 20th anniversary of the American war in Afghanistan which has ended with the collapse of the Afghan goverment and the takeover by the Taliban.

Community Supported Film’s (CSFilm) mission is to amplify local voices in under- or mis-represented communities – whether they be new immigrants in the United States, Haitians, or Afghans.

As the international community disengages, Americans are hearing very little from Afghans. In line with our mission, CSFilm launches Afghanistan-LookListenLocal. From now through the departure of the US coalition, Afghans will share their experiences through videos, photos, and writing.

Afghanistan-LookListenLocal will include:

Single Shot Video Contest. Afghans across the country are using their phones to shoot a single unedited shot that captures the essence of their lived reality.
Short documentary videos are being mentored through production and will become new tools to stimulate discussion.
Blog posts are being written on Afghans that participated in CSFilm’s first training and filmmaking project, The Fruit of Our Labor-Afghan Perspectives in Film. After 10 years many are refugees again, others have developed careers in filmmaking, some are living or working in regions once again controlled by the Taliban, all are fearful that Afghanistan is returning to a civil war defined by ethnic divisions.

Video Contest

Single Shot Video Contest. Afghans across the country are using their phones to shoot a single unedited shot that captures the essence of their lived reality. The best entries are awarded $300 and shared. This started in June, before the takeover by the Taliban.

Filmmaker: Hosna; Location: Kabul City, Afghanistan

Introduction from Hosna:

“This video is about street kids because:

Streets kids are under a lot of mental pressure;
They lose the chance to get an education;
The likelihood that they will be recruited by insurgent groups and gangs is high;
They should play but they work.

There are thousands of kids on the street who make a living by begging, waxing shoes, washing cars and much more.”

Stories

Blog posts are being written on Afghans that participated in CSFilm’s first training and filmmaking project, The Fruit of Our Labor-Afghan Perspectives in Film. These stories were written before the takeover by the Taliban.

1st anniversary of Afghan crisis

Night after night (daytime in Afghanistan) I used real-time on-the-ground intelligence information provided by vets and other organizations also working to evacuate people, to try and help guide families around the violent Taliban checkpoints, through the crushing crowds to the 20’ high walls of cement and barbed wire.

ON AFGHANISTAN | The beautiful land of endless suffering, by Jamaluddin Aram

Jamaluddin Aram served as CSFilm’s translator and coordinator in Afghanistan from 2010-12.

He is a documentary filmmaker, producer and short story writer from Kabul. He lives in Toronto.

Jamal has written a searingly poetic and vibrantly visual opinion piece on Afghanistan for Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper.

“Soon you are married to a member of the Taliban…” Aqeela’s Story, Afghanistan-LookListenLocal

At a time in a country where any female in cinema is considered a cheap woman if not an outright prostitute, one needs valor, thick skin, and a tremendous threshold for suffering.

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Evacuation and Resettlement

We are no longer accepting funds designated for the Fund for Afghan Evacuation and Resettlement (FAER) as our ability to help has been impacted by the Trump administration’s closure of the US refugee and resettlement programs. With the generous support you have already provided, we continue to help families already settled in the US, refugees still in dire situations in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, and to advocate for the resumption of the US refugee and resettlement programs.

FAER started in August of 2021 in response to the pullout by the US and the take over of Afghanistan by the Taliban. CSFilm supporters have generously contributed over $60,000 which was (and continues to be) used to help 21 families with subsistence, evacuation, temporary relocation and legal aid. FAER was reopened in November of 2024 to help Afghan refugees arriving in the US and those still in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran, but is once again not accepting new donations.

Against the Wall – An Afghan Evacuation Story, Part 2

It was August 19th 2021, three days after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban. I received a startling email from Rahmat, one of our editors:

Dear Michael,

Hope you are doing well. Now I got to Poland. Warsaw airport. This is the contact number of a polish woman who was responsible to assemble us to travel to Poland. Hope you and Basir can find a solution to evacuate all members here.