Saturday, August 18, 2007

Who Dares?!!



Poster for "The Keys to Paradise" which will be produced by Deedenow Cinema in 2008


Who dares to invest on a controversial but necessary film in Afghanistan?


Following the production of “Treasure in the ruins” Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production is announcing its second film project for the investors and producers who are interested to invest on it.

The screenplay is written by M. Amin Wahidi and tends to depict the ideology and thoughts which are beyond the moral of suicide bombing of the young religious scholars in Afghanistan and the young religious students of Pakistan being convinced to be sent to Afghanistan for suicide attacks.

Film Title: The Keys to Paradise
Subject: Depicting the last 24 hours of life of A Taliban Suicide Bomber Mullah who in the last minute decides no to suicide himself.
Screenplay writer: Mohammad Amin Wahidi
Director: Mohammad Amin Wahidi
Production name: Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production ® - Afghanistan
Screenplay length: 45 pages
Film runtime: 60 minutes
Format: HD Digital
Screenplay language: Dari (Farsi)
Film language: Dari and Pashto
Status: The project has not begin yet (not funded yet)
Estimated budget: XXXXXX USD
Shooting locations: Kabul and its suburb, Maidan Wardak and Logar province
Cast and crew:
Screenplay writer & Director: Mohammad Amin Wahidi


The Keys to Paradise

(Depicting the last minutes of live of a Taliban Suicide Bomber)
Synopsis:

Taufeq is a twenty five year old mullah who has studied in a religious Madrasa in Pakistan and now after he has returned to Afghanistan, lives with his mother and runs a small Madrasa teaching the children and teens religious studies, in his village.
His father has been killed in an air attack of the coalition forces in Afghanistan and so he is the only supporter for his mother. Taufeq is to suicide himself attacking the foreign troops; as per invitation of his master from Pakistan and for the purpose of going to the paradise. There are other certain reasons for this decision; when the governmental civilian schools are build in the village, less people refer to his Madrasa, and in these days he got only a few children referring to his Madrasa, he has some keys from his Master Mullah that are the keys to the Paradise in his belief and with which he can enter the paradise. The revenge of his father, this year’s drought and agricultural damages, and diseases their livestock dies because of, all are surrounding Taufeq very badly. He lives with his memories about his Madrasa in Pakistan. He has two important things in his daily life, an old radio with which he listens to the news about the Taliban and his father’s grave which he talks at nights with on daily basis. Hearing the news about killing of the Taliban, his angers increase day by day. At night he has nightmares seeing the foreign troops deriding, and annoying him or dreaming the scene when his father was killed.

A selected scene for "The Keys to Paradise"
Finally Taufeq is to select a way to release from all these disasters.
He accepts the invitation of his Master Mullah and takes a two days hidden training how to suicide himself. He tells nothing about it to his mother. The day comes when he is ready to go, without telling his mother where he is going but his mother already realized where he is going.


His mother wails, losing the only supporter, but for Taufeq the paradise and the promises of his master are more important. He is well- determined to accomplish the mission but he has no idea where to suicide himself, in a hospital? In a school, in a bazaar, or with the foreign forces? All his way from home to the main bazaar thinking about the paradise suddenly he sees some real scenes of the innocent people of the village; people being treated in the hospitals of the town, children going to school happily and an old woman as his mother, in this time he hears a bomb blast far away from him, soon after that the news comes that a best friend of his childhood who was returning from Europe to Afghanistan is being killed in that suicide bomb blast. Hearing this news and imaging his mother’s loneliness losing his power to move towards blasting himself, throwing away his ammunitions and the keys that he assumed to be the keys to paradise, saying this sentence “my homeland is my paradise” Taufeq goes back to embrace his mother while has lost his best friend for ever. It is sad to lose the best friend of childhood for ever but it is still pleasant when changing mind for a nicer and better decision!

Background; why this subject?!!


Lately a fourteen year old Pakistani boy was caught by the Afghan Security forces in Khost province that was going to blast himself in a suicide attack on Khost governor and then was forgiven and released by President Karzai for his was just a child and was misled and misused by the Terrorists. In the last three years in Afghanistan, the idea of suicide attacks on the foreigners has a rapidly growth among the young religious students who blindly follow this path believing this action as a mean for them towards paradise and long prosperity. Al though this idea is not a product of Afghanistan itself and is an imported strategy from the extremists and fundamentalists of Pakistan, but has been very vastly prevalent basically among the youth who suffer from poverty and is misled in their lessons in the southern regions of Afghanistan.
Basically for the fundamentalists and extremists misled religious groups and leaders, ideological war has become the most successful mean to reach their goals. This ideological war which means; taking advantages and benefits from the emotions, thoughts and believes of others has been very successful to grow by conquering the hearts, thoughts and beliefs of the young inexperienced blind religious students in Madrasas. Besides, they teach the youth in Madrasas about Jihad (The Holy war) they give them keys saying that they are the keys to paradise thus these keys are found with the suicide bombers. Showing them colorful dreams and imaginations the fundamentalists promise and encourage the unexercised youth for a better real life.

The reason beyond these suicide attack are not yet been analyzed that why suicide?! The cinema and film production can d epict the scope of this action and its consequences.
As the reports say: there have been more than 150 suicide attackers in different provinces of Afghanistan, only in the year 2006 but except some short TV spots there have been no movies and films produced depicting this important reality of Afghanistan in a fiction / feature structure.




Therefore this subject is a very new and fresh idea about the current situation of Afghanistan while the focus of international community and the UN is to know what exactly is going on here in Afghanistan. Here are the filmmakers who can play role of bridge between Afghanistan and the International Community that didn’t really happened yet.
Wish success for the interested productions / individuals who want to invest on this project in Afghanistan.

To invest on this Afghan controversial film please contact us as below and we welcome you to Deedenow Cinema:

Postal address:
P.O.Box number: 1477, Kabul Central Post Office, Kabul Afghanistan
E-mails:
aminwahidi@gmail.com
aminwahidi@yahoo.com
aminwahidi@hotmail.com
Mobiles:
+93(0)70221352
+93(0)777302005
Websites:
http://www.aminwahidi.com/
http://www.deedenowcinema.com/
http://www.aminwahidi.blogspot.com/

Treasure in the ruins on screen!

FA special screening of “Treasure in the ruins” for the film critics in Kabul



“Treasure in the ruins” a short film lately made by Amin Wahidi was screened in a special and friendly session for film critics in Academy of Art and Cinematic Education on Thursday August 02 2007.



In this session famous Afghan filmmakers like; Razi Mohebi, Ali Mohammadi, Soheila Mohebi, Reza Intezar, Ali Haqjo, Ali Hazara Lal Mohammad Ali Zada, famous Afghan film critic; Ali Karimi, television producers like; Hanif Elham, Abdul Rahim Danish and other guests were present in this session some of whom talked on the film.


Most of the participants praised this film as one of the best Afghan films made after the Taliban with the subject of post conflict children and one of the best first films of young filmmakers.

This short film depicts the story of a seven years old curious little Afghan girl who looks for treasure in the ruins of Kabul.
Homa goes to school in the morning and weaves carpet in the evening together with his brother Homayoon.
Her sick mother tells her different legends and stories including one about a poor boy and the treasure in the ruins. Hearing the legend of the poor boy and treasures Homa looks for treasure in the ruin buildings of Kabul and what she finds are all the items of war and destruction. At the end Homa’s mother dies of Tuberculoses for weaving carpet for years and years and Homa burns and buries the items she has found from the ruins.


Aqeela Rezayee actress of Makhmalbaf Film House


Playing roles in some of Makhmalbaf Film House films Aqela Rezayee a leading Afghan actress has the role of Homa’s sick mother in this film. Asifa Abdul Hussaini, Metra Wahidi (director’s youngest sister) and Azizullah Jafari are the three child actors who have glittered very well in this film.



Azizullaha Jafari as Homayoon and Asifa as Homa



Meetra Wahidi ( director's sister) as Azada and Saima Jafari as Fatima
Representing Afghanistan this short film is to be screened in the EIUC Summer School on Cinema and Human Rights and the 64th Venice International Film Festival of Italy held in August- Sep 2007 among the filmmakers of the world.

It is to say that Amin Wahidi plans to direct and produce two films in the year 2008; a short fiction and a feature film. The short one is a fiction titled; “The great desire” and the second one is a feature film titled “Keys to the paradise” both of which will be produced in Afghanistan in the coming year.

A selected scene for "The Keys to Paradise"

In addition to these two films; Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production has planned to produce 25 short fiction films (with 7 – 15 minutes runtime) with different themes and subjects in 2008- 2009.

This would be a great opportunity for the young Afghan filmmakers who are going to shoot their first or second films.

The call for screenplay is already written and distributed.

Amin Wahidi is looking for international co-producers for these projects of the short Afghan films to be produced in 2008- 2009.