From Italy Back to Kabul with Enthusiasm or With Fear?

Soon I will be going back home. I think life is hard and harsh sometimes. When we face censorship, difficult sometimes. When we cannot work as we want, being threatened; sometimes when not sleeping at all the whole night because of threats and intimidation, but still very lovely and very sweet with all the harshness and difficulties in my lovely Afghanistan. And I am happy to carry new experiences to my hometown for the other young Afghan filmmakers.

The first day I arrived in Venice, Italy I was really impressed, seeing a whole city in water with ancient buildings existing from centuries back, in the same brownish color with many ships and boats and tourists in this city.

Seeing many tourists I thought it may have been nice not only for me, but maybe every new visitor would have the same feeling as me.

But after one week when I got used to the beauty of the city, I was very busy with lessons, the Venice Film Festival and did not have time for real enjoyment of the city. I still enjoyed the workshop itself, meetings with famous and well-known filmmakers of the world and the film screenings at the festival.

Later on, when I received the comment from the horrible “almujahid” on my blog and his email in my mailbox it was really a bang for me which shocked me with fear.

And thereafter I did not enjoy anything at all in Venice, except talking with my parents and family members on the phone about their safety and security.

This became a real trouble I felt, which made me a bit sad among the other participants of the workshop and led me towards loneliness and thinking in the bathroom under the shower for the rest of the days.

And now when getting ready to leave Italy back to Kabul, I break my heart into two halves, keep one half in Italy, and take the other with me back to my homeland. The one remaining in Italy will contain memories of EIUC Summer School professors, students, the directors I met in Venice Film Festival and friends I made especially there. The other part will be in my hometown, with my family, with my friends back at home in the middle of dust, fire and hardships.

Now on I have started imagining the moment when my plane will be landing in Kabul, what will exactly happen to me? Will I really be killed as soon as I arrive there? Or will I have some time more to survive and live? Well, God knows better, but I still believe that will definitely happen and nobody can escape or stop it when something is already written in my fate and predestination! May be for me it is written, death at 25 caused by writing something about the Taliban and making a film about them?!

The worst things trickle in my mind are the questions; what will happen to the rest of my plans that I already made if I die this soon? Who will take care of my family? What will happen to education of my younger brothers? Who will represent the Academy of Art of Afghanistan?

Who will manage the international coordination of young Afghan filmmakers? Of course there will be someone to do all these things instead of me one day, but how long will it take?

How many more years will be spent that all these things would shape from the beginning which already took me at least four years to reach this level?!

About my family I do not care if I die, they may less suffer because of me and my activities and my second brother will take care of the family after me. But I worry about my bigger tasks, the responsibilities that I undertook for my society for the young Afghan filmmakers, Academy of Arts, Radio television programs and many other bigger tasks.

Sometimes I go thinking, I am walking in the streets of Karte Sey right in Pol e Sorkh cross road where I get off the bus and go to my work in NDI every morning. I imagine I am in the ground floor of Maiwand Restaurant where I and Mehdi (my friend who nowadays works on a documentary about Afghan journalists in danger) sometimes went there for tea or juice drinks and discussed our film works.

Sometimes I imagine that I am in Pohanzaye Honarhaye Zeba with my friends and classmates (The Fine Arts Faculty of Kabul University) where I study cinema and theatre night shift there. But you know all imaginings are not more than blinking pictures in one’s mind, nothing else I can do except repeat them in my mind.

And now when I remember the time when I was departing from Kabul to Italy, I posted the information about our trip titled “from Kabul to Venice with message of brotherhood” and now when I am moving back towards Afghanistan I am carrying good memories of Italy but with fear of being killed.

Now let’s go back to Kabul. I am sure if I live longer when I go back, soon I will start working on my numerous projects including the important one “The Keys to paradise” for which I was already seriously threatened to death; but still no worries.

So sorry to take your time, but want to tell you what I will be doing within one to two next years;

The project proposals that I submitted to the EIUC Summer School I attended recently are short documentaries about freedom of expression titled “ Afghan Diaries.” I have a short and a feature fiction film about the suicide attacks of the Taliban for which I am still looking for co-producers.

Want to remind again that the purpose of this writing is not to talk about my self but just to let you know how difficult it is to work for freedom of expression in Afghanistan.

Although up to this moment, some questions are still unresolved for me for instance; when I know that I am threatened to death, is it not foolish to go into the fire on my own feet?

Or if I stay here in Italy will I be able to do all what I did in Kabul? Or at least will I be able to pursue my higher education here in Italy?

Therefore I want your comments and your suggestions and I again invite you to my blog. Please read it frequently and leave your comments on my writings. This, for the purpose of supporting freedom of expression in the emerging democracy of Afghanistan.

God bless you all.

Experiences at EIUC Summer School and Venice Film Festival

The EIUC Summer School on Cinema and Human Rights, held simultaneously with the Venice International Film Festival, is one of the best programs on cinema and human rights. It brings the two fields of study together for a better purpose.

Through this program people from both fields—the film industry and human rights activism—shared their ideas on how to use cinema as a tool for humanitarian purposes.

In addition to the modules taught in this summer school, participants got the chance to meet with different filmmakers, including famous ones such as Ken Loach and Penny Woolcock. It was useful to get to know in-depth their thoughts and very personal experiences in the industry.

Overall the summer school and the festival were very good experiences, especially for the young filmmakers and human rights activists of the countries participating.

Representing Afghanistan’s Deedenow Cinema, Amin Wahidi has learned so much from his summer school and has made many contacts with filmmakers attending the festival.

Deedenow Cinema is thankful to those devoted individuals and organizations that have facilitated Amin Wahidi's participation in the program, namely Robert and Kathryn Maier, George Eimemermann, and the Bayat Foundation.

The summer school was held from August 23 to September 12. The program included participants from Afghanistan, America, Bahrain, Bangladesh, France, Italy, Libera, Nepal, Sweden, Turkey, and Zambia.

At the end of the summer school the participants were given certificates.

Yours sincerely,

M. Amin Wahidi

These may be my last words before I die! (Amin Wahidi's will)

The Taliban are the real symbol of terror without a doubt!

First let me tell you the whole story:

When we talk of terror and intimidation, normally the images of the 9/11 attacks flash in our minds. When we hear the word “Taliban” in our daily terminology, we imagine a bearded, turbaned man beating a poor Borqa-wearing woman with a black cable while holding an AK47 on his shoulder, don’t we? Or maybe many other images of bearded, armed Taliban come to our minds.

What about the use of threats as terrorism? Have you ever heard of this? Have you ever been threatened by an unknown stranger who you have never seen, but who follows you like your shadow?

Well, I have been threatened by unknown emails and phone calls, and I don’t know why.

The latest message that I have received, from an unknown person who I think follows my activities, tells me “to dig my grave when I come back to Afghanistan.”

I do not know why. This unknown person even knows that I am outside of Afghanistan, in Italy. In his mind I became a Christian by traveling to a European country.

Why me as a target?

I think a lot, day and night, about what I have done so wrong that they threaten me. I really cannot find a point or a reason! What have I done wrong? And why me?

There are many big figures that work against the Taliban and terrorists, but I am targeted instead! Who am I? A person who wants to make a film about a Taliban suicide bomber! I am threatened just for this? Oh, I get the answer. It’s very simple! They don’t want me to make the film about the Taliban! They don’t want me to say the Taliban are bad. Indeed, they don’t want me to reveal the black face of Taliban to the world.

I found these answers for the question of why I was threatened. But what do you think I am going to do? Do you think I am going to be afraid of them? No, never! I will do my work and hopefully I will accomplish my goal. Then whatever happens, let it happen.

Because I already believe that being a filmmaker is itself a big risk!

They probably think that if they kill me, there will be no one to make a film about the Taliban, but they are wrong! There are and there will be filmmakers who want to reveal the truth.

Let me tell you more:

It began in early July this year when I received an email entitled, “it is now time to Jihad” from the address almujahid.mujahid@googlemail.com. I ignored it, but later when I posted a new entry in my blog about the murders of journalists in Afghanistan, I again received a threatening comment and email. Then, when posting an entry entitled “Who Dares?”—the entry that introduced my next film, which is about a Taliban suicide bomber—I again received a comment from the same person, “Almujahid,” who was inviting me to join “real” Islam. But I again ignored it.

Once or twice I replied to him through a comment in my blog, but the latest reply I received was a bit shocking for me. It was threatening me and my family, telling me to dig my grave when I come back to Afghanistan. This stone-minded man even knew that I was outside of Afghanistan. I wonder how he knew that I am outside of Afghanistan in Italy.

To read the first message that have I received as a comment in my blog, please click the link below:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4682699493941043431&postID=6413288369942498511

To read the second and third messages that I have received as comments in my blog, please click the link below:

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=4682699493941043431&postID=2869583819045474245

I have also received emails with the same content.

I am almost lost!

Sometimes I think about my home, in my homeland where I do not feel secure. Then where in the world will I be secure? I think I am totally lost. Where I am from? From the land of violence, the land of killings and threats? Sometimes it confuses me. Most of the characters I create in my screenplays dream about their lives and try to find their desired places in their dreams. Sometimes in the past, while outside of Afghanistan, I myself used to dream of home, where I belonged. But these days, I have no idea where and what to dream about. My dreams are nightmares and frightening images of violence and intimidation come into my mind and I visualize them.

Where is my home?

I am really trying to find out the meaning of home. What is a home? Does it not mean a place where a person or a family can share all their pains and sorrows? Is it not a place where a person should feel safe? Then am I really safe when I am at my home?

As if it has been my lifestyle

Sometimes I feel it must be my lifestyle not to live in my own home, since I was advised to change my sleeping place from night to night when I didn’t feel secure.

It seems as if it is my lifestyle to stay one night in my grandparents' home per week, two nights in academy of arts per week, two nights in my uncle’s home per week and two nights in my home. Or it may be written in my fate, who knows?

Some of my colleagues who did not know about my safety problems and obstacles thought I was miser who didn’t want to spend a lot of money when I always used to come by public buses to my office. I hardly used the taxi to travel from my home to my office since I was advised to travel by public transportation, because of kidnappings and threats that we received.

Bathroom has become my thinking place these days

The only place for me to think about my unclear future is under the shower in the bathroom. I named it Andeshagah, which in Dari means "a place to think in." The only thing I can do in this situation is imprison myself under the shower in the bathroom, to get into the depths of my thoughts. What will I do next week, in two days, tomorrow, or even in two hours?

Afterwards I see I have passed hours there going over my life in-depth.

Now I want your support!

And now, I want the attention of the journalistic and free media associations of the world. I want you to reflect through the media of the world the issue of threats and intimidation against the journalists of Afghanistan. I want you to condemn the threats and intimidation made by the fundamentalists against the journalists and filmmakers of Afghanistan.

I want you to subscribe to my blog by entering your emails in the subscription box, so that you will receive each of the new articles automatically as we post them.

Visit our blog on a frequent basis. I want you all to read my articles and free media reports and leave your comments on them. I want you to give the address of my blog to everyone else interested in the media and cinema of Afghanistan.

I want you to hear our voices and reflect them to the world.

I am strongly committed to my goals

What is going to happen I do not now know, but I am still committed to accomplishing my goals. In any case I am going to do my work, make my films and deliver my message to the people of the world. As it says in Dari, "We are not the willows that tremble by these winds." I am not shocked by these threats into stopping my work, my responsibilities.

I now know why everyone tries to abandon Afghanistan

When I saw people leaving Afghanistan for other countries, I wondered why no one was patriotic and optimistic about Afghanistan. But now I can understand it.

I can feel very clearly why they are abandoning Afghanistan. I can now understand why people leave their lovely homeland to emigrate to other countries.

Where to run and for how long?

But for me, it seems very difficult to run and run my whole life to find a safer place to live in. I am confused about how much longer I am going to be in immigration or exile. I have spent about nine years of my life in immigration. How many more years am I going to be far from home? Where will I find my home? Will it be safer than my own original home? Will it accommodate me as a home? These are the questions that sometimes tinkle in my mind.

I will first accomplish my goals and then die!

But of one thing I am very sure, that first I have to consider my safety as much as possible—as said by God—and then do the things that I have set as the goals of my life. My goals are leave a trace of myself when I die, and to die only after expressing myself to others, when I have transferred my feelings and understanding of the world to others through the lens of cinema.

I want to make the films and to write the stories that I have kept for years and years in my heart, and then I may die.

When I am done with the responsibilities that I have undertaken, then I will have no fear of intimidation and threats! Thus I strictly follow my goals and try to accomplish them.

Therefore, while I am still alive and struggling for freedom of expression in Afghanistan, I will use my second blog, by the title of “Still Alive!” There you can read about my and other journalists’ obstacles as a diary.

--with editorial assistance from Nathan Hartle

“Treasure in the Ruins” screened for critics in Kabul

Amin Wahidi’s new film “Treasure in the Ruins” was screened for critics at the Academy of Art and Cinematic Education on Thursday, August 2, 2007.

Filmmakers and producers also attended the screening, with some guests giving speaches about the film. Attendees included Razi Mohebi, Ali Mohammadi, Soheila Mohebi, Reza Intezar, Ali Haqjo, Ali Hazara Lal, Mohammad Ali Zada, Ali Karimi, Hanif Elham and Abdul Rahim Danish, among others.

Most participants praised the film, calling it one of the best films made by a first-time filmmaker after the fall of the Taliban, and one of the best to deal with the effects of that conflict on children.

The twenty-six minute film tells the story of Homa, a seven-year-old Afghan girl who lives with her brother Homayoon and their ailing, widowed mother in the ruins of post-war Kabul. Inspired by her mother’s stories of a poor young boy’s treasure hunt, Homa goes on her own search through the wreckage for mythical riches. She finds only objects left over from the conflict. As her mother succumbs to tuberculosis from her years as a weaver, Homa burns and buries these remnants of war and destruction.

Aqela Rezayee, a leading Afghan actress who has played in films by the Makhmalbaf Film House, plays Homa’s mother. Glittering in the roles of the children are Asifa Abdul Hussaini, Azizullah Jafari and Metra Wahidi, the director’s younger sister.

Representing the cinema of Afghanistan to an international audience, the film is scheduled for screenings at the EIUC Summer School on Cinema and Human Rights and the 64^th Venice International Film Festival. The Festival will be held on the Venice Lido August 29 to September 8, 2007.

Amin Wahidi plans to direct and produce two films in Afghanistan in 2008. One is a short film entitled “The Great Desire,” and the other is a 60-minute drama entitled “The Keys of Paradise.”

In addition, Wahidi’s organization Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production plans to produce 25 short films in 2008-2009, each running between 7 and 15 minutes, dealing with various themes and subjects.

Deedenow presents this as an opportunity for young Afghan filmmakers to get their first (or second) pictures made, and has distributed a call for screenplays. The organization also seeks international co-producers for these films.

editorial assistance- Nathan Hartle

Afghan Film officials skip “Treasure in the Ruins” premiere, threaten censorship

Officials from Afghan Films, a department of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Culture overseeing the film industry, refused an invitation to the Kabul premiere of my film “Treasure in the Ruins.”

This followed a private screening after which these officials noted several objections to the film’s portrayals of Afghan government, religion and culture, and pressured Deedenow to make cuts to certain scenes from the film. The parts objected to include sections of dialogue, as well as scenes of symbolism that I feel gives the film its strength.

Deedenow stands against misunderstanding and baseless censorship. We refuse to cut the film without logical reasons to do so. We have repeatedly extended offers of support and compromise to Afghan Films, including the organization’s president Latif Ahmadi, but Ahmadi is only interested in spreading propaganda and keeping his job.

We regret that Afghan Films, which should be operating in the service of the nation’s film industry, instead acts to discourage young filmmakers and create obstacles to their projects.

Objections to the film included our omission of the spoken name of Allah at the beginning of the film, which the Afghan Films board of review states should precede all films. Instead of Allah’s name, the film opens with the barking of a dog. The board unofficially accused us of insulting Islam with this replacement, but has not yet taken official action.

Afghan Films also objected to a scene in which a soldier guarding the Darull Amaan Palace considers allowing the film’s young female protagonist inside to search for treasure. The board stated that the scene portrays weakness in the Afghan police and military, and therefore should be cut.

A third scene, in which the same young girl buries a number of military badges and metals and burns a picture of former kings, was thought to be insulting to Afghanistan’s national pride and symbols. This is not the case.

Attendance at the film’s premiere numbered more than a hundred, and included filmmakers, critics, artists and media activists, as well as journalists from various publications and television stations. Deedenow is seeking more exposure for the film, sending it to international film festivals as well as screening it within Afghanistan. We will continue to screen the film and stand up for our freedom of speech.

I will write about the corruption within the Afghan film industry in my next article. In this lies the real struggle.

-with editoral assistance from Nathan Hartle

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.