Wednesday, February 14, 2007

There we go!


Poster for " I am hungry mom!"


Soon we are full hands with the first actual production of Deedenow Cinema “I am hungry mom!”

“I am hungry mom!” is the title of short fiction which is the first actual production of Deedenow Cinema after its establishment. The screenplay is written by Mohammad Amin Wahidi and soon it will be directed by him in March 2007. The screenplay after being completed by Amin Wahidi has been reviewed and certified by Academy of Arts and Cinematic Studies in Kabul who will technically support the production of this short film. “ I am hungry mom!” which at the beginning titled “Homa” as the name of its main character, is about a small girl who is looking for treasures in the ruin buildings of Kabul after hearing the tales of treasures form her mother. It will be filmed in Kabul and poverty, hunger, ruins and the war affected children are focused on in this short film.

It is to say that after completio,n this film will be sent to the national and international film festivals.

Film information:

Film title: I am hungry mom!
Subject: Explore of a seven year old Afghan girl, who is looking for the treasures in the ruin houses in Afghanistan based on the legend she has heard from her sick mother that “treasures are in the ruins”.
Screenplay writer: Mohammad Amin Wahidi
Director: Mohammad Amin Wahidi
Length: 20 minutes
Format: digital
Language: Dari (Persian)
Subtitle: English
Producer: Deed-e-now Cinema Production
Production year: 2007
Status: pre- production

I am hungry mom!
(The story of a curious little girl in the ruins of Afghanistan)


Synopsis:

Homa is a seven / eight year old Afghan girl who lives with her mother and her brother. Her father has been disappeared during the Taliban regime and they know nothing about him since then. Half a day Homa goes to school and half a day she weaves carpet at home with Homayoon her brother. Carpet is the only income for their livelihood though her mother is infected with tuberculosis because of weaving carpet for years and years.
At nights her mother tells her different tales and legends and hearing them Homa goes to sleep. One night her mother tells her the legend of the poor boy and the treasure an ancient traditional tale. After she hears this legend from her sick mother, she decides to look for and find out the treasures in the ruins of her home town.

Finally she faces with different things that bring her memories of the years of war and Taliban regime when she finds different old and broken items from the ruin houses and buildings each of which is the symbols of different mementos and different stories.



Why this subject?!

Afghanistan is a country that has been under the focus of different counties of international community and foreign aids and this focus has been very widely spreaded out in the media and press of the world after the disaster of September 11th 2001. From the eye of a filmmaker the very important part of the focus of international community in this country is the very bottom layer of the society, or the hungry bare feet people of the citizens of the country. How these aids have affected the lives of these low class citizens of the society it is very important.

Despite of all these aids, reconstructions and propagandas there are still people looking for their daily food, there are still people dying of hunger and very dangerous diseases they faced with because of poverty and there are under age children still being forced to work to feed the families who have lost their guardian in the civil war and there are still ruined house across the country even the capital city of the country, Kabul. And there still four things that are very obvious even for a foreign visitor to this country and they are: Poverty, hunger, ruins and orphan children who beg or work on the roads.

As per the geological surveys being conducted in this country, the available underground minds and minerals are enough at least to feed the people and to help them in their livelihood, but when they all be extracted and be used for the well of the poor citizens god knows!

This is a question of young and old people of Afghanistan that where do these foreign aids go? How will this aids and assistances affect the lives of poor people of Afghanistan? In this story Homa a seven year old girl who has lost her father during the Taliban, is exploring the ruins of her country looking for treasures as has heard a legend from her sick mother about it; “The treasures are in the ruins”. Then she faces with some other realities and truths!


After this short film “Keys of the Paradise” is the second screenplay which is also written by Mohammad Amin Wahidi will be produced by Deed-e- now Cinema Production and that is about an Afghan suicide bomber who at the last minutes decides not to suicide himself. The Keys of the paradise depicts the last 24 hours of life of an Afghan suicide bomber Mullah who in the last minute decides no to suicide himself for some humanitarian visions and imaginations he founds.

Wish success for the interested productions / individuals who want to invest on such projects in Afghanistan in the future.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

A Cinematic Life?!


Views of ruined cinema building in Kabul form inside and outside


A cinematic life?!

A memento of producing cinema program for ATN
(By M. Amin Wahidi)

Recently I am working on a screenplay the story of which has come to my mind just by a glance to a broken and ruined movie theatre building in Kabul Afghanistan. It is a memento of when I was producing “Chashme Sheshayee” a cinematic program on Ariana Television Network in Kabul, the time when I wanted to introduce the cinema halls in Kabul and I passed by Fakhri cinema which is totally destroyed in the war. I heard some voices form inside of the cinema hall, I was more curious to see what was inside so I approached the building entrance to see what is going on there. It just shocked me when I saw a family of five was living in the ruined building of a cinema as in their home. A little girl and a little boy were playing on the stage which had no roof on it. The father who had one leg was breaking wood for the fire in the samovar and the mother was washing clothes.
Another boy of them who seemed to be the eldest son of the family works with his father to earn for their livelihood as per saying of the parents.
They make tea at home and sell it to people by serving on a small cart near their home.

I really was confused, to cry or to laugh seeing this situation, but it was not only Fakhri cinema, which is ruined. There are many other movie theatres such as, Barekoot cinema, Kabul Nandari cinema, Maiwand cinema and Kote Sangi cinema which are all broken down due to the civil war and other crises, which one I should cry for?

Seeing all these I went to depth of my thoughts, why was this family forced to live in this building? When this building is going to be reconstructed? What will happen to this family if the building is to be reconstructed? And worse than that what will happen to the culture of cinema in Afghanistan if this ruined cinema hall and other similar ones will not be reconstructed soon? They are the nerve racking questions that jingled in my mind.
But finally I came to a point and that is rather than thinking a lot about it, I should name it (A cinematic Life!) and should write a nice screenplay on it.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

Know us better !


We are to develop our cinema and you are to be helped in your film projects in Afghanistan!


Deed-e- now cinema is a registered production that is founded by the young Afghan Filmmakers and cinematic activists here in Kabul Afghanistan. We provide you consultancy and advice for your film projects in Afghanistan.

The goals we have to achieve are:

· Conducting researches about Cinema, especially The Afghan Cinema and filmmakers.
· Producing fiction and documentary films in Afghanistan and the region.
· Working for development of Cinema in Afghanistan.
· Working for development of women filmmakers in Afghanistan.
· Working for promoting the family movie going in Afghanistan.
· Playing the role of a bridge between Afghan Filmmakers and foreign filmmakers.

Products and services:

Writing and adapting scenarios (mostly Afghanistan related stories) including film story plots and full screenplays (mostly for festival based films)

Coordination of filmmaking equipments and filming locations for foreign film projects in Afghanistan.

Providing advice and consultancy for the foreign filmmakers who want to have film projects in Afghanistan.

Sketching story boards for films by professional designers and illustrators

Contact persons:

Mohammad .Amin Wahidi

Director of Deed-e-now Cinema (production) ® Kabul Afghanistan

Dari weblog: www.aminwahidi4u.blogfa.com
Email: aminwahidi@yahoo.com
Mobile: (0093) 70221352 - (0093) 777302005)


Contact us for your film projects in Afghanistan and support us for the promotion of Afghan Cinema.