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.

“My Cousin is fighting for the Taliban. I am not.” New Story: Afghanistan-LookListenLocal

Majid starts receiving calls. Some are from Afghan members of parliament. Some are from unknown callers who reject the allegations and demand Majid to quit reporting or he might not be aboveground to receive their next call. The man on the other end of the line can be anyone. He can be Majid’s cousin who has joined the Taliban.

The black future of Afghanistan

From a colleague in Afghanistan: Kabul city is currently surrounded by those wild creatures in this black forest. Those predators have become more savage and unrestrained than before.

Next Entries »

Evacuation and Resettlement

Urgent Help needed to Evacuate and Resettle Afghan Filmmakers & Families: Since Before the fall of Kabul on August 15th, life has turned into a terrifying scramble for millions in Afghanistan, including the people Community Supported Film (CSFilm) works with. We are working night and day to get them out of the country. To assist these families we have established the Afghan Evacuation & Resettlement Fund. In normal circumstances, any initiative that contributes to the brain drain of a country is anathema to the foundation of our work. In this case, however, we will do everything possible to save and rebuild our colleagues’ lives.

Donate to the Afghan Evacuation & Resettlement Fund

Please contribute to this effort to help people face the physical, mental, and financial challenges of leaving everything behind and resettling in a new country.

These are the early days of a long, arduous, and painful process. We do not know how much money will be needed, for how long or how exactly it will be used. If for whatever reason funds aren’t needed for resettlement, we will refund your donation or ask your permission to put it to use towards our ongoing mission-based work to amplify local voices, perspectives, and experience. Thank you. Read updates on the effort below.

Doc World | Afghanistan: The Wounded Land – A Four-Part Series – Streaming Online

From the Soviet invasion to the Taliban regime, a new series narrated by ‘The Kite Runner’ author @khaledhosseini explores Afghanistan’s complex past, present & future. Watch ‘#Afghanistan: The Wounded Land’ on Sundays starting 7/10 on #DocWorld. https://worldchannel.org/show/doc-world/ #AfghanistanWoundedLand

The stress for Afghans is incomprehensible | Your generous support is still essential

Afghans you have generously helped continue to need assistance. None of the assistance we have been able to provide would have been possible without your generous support. I hope that I can continue to count on your generosity as we continue to help our Afghan colleagues reach safety and rebuild their lives.

Afghan Fund For Evacuation and Resettlement | Update by the Numbers

$44,375 dollars spent on legal and living expenses for Afghans. We need your continued generous support for the Fund for Afghan Evacuation and Resettlement as well as for our new online training program in documentary filmmaking.

« Older Entries

Next Entries »