One award fro Afghanistan from YAGAMATA International Film Festival

Award of excellence in new asian currents awards section for the MOHTARAMA and  Raging Land 3: Three Valleys form HongKong.

A documentary film from Afghanistan has been selected in YAGAMATA International Documentary Film Festival.

MOHTARAMA is a joined project documentary by Malek Shafi’i and Diana Saqeb, tow Afghanistani documentary filmmakers based in Kabul.

19 short and feature documentaries was selected to competing for the "New Asian Currents" Yamagata Documentary Film Festival.

In 2009, the Afghan Parliament approved the Shia Family Law, which was then signed by President Karzai. The law severely restricted women’s freedom, making it illegal for them to exit the house without their husband’s consent or resisting to their husband’s sexual demands.

The Afghan women who were against this law, gathered and protested in front of Afghanistan’s biggest religious school where the law was written with support from Sheikh Asif Mohsini (an Islamic scholar and the founder of the school). The protests turned violent as the students of the school began humiliating the women protestors by beating, spitting, and labeling them as “Western followers”.

This was one of the first major movements by women for their rights. This seemed to be the right time to visit other provinces to learn about the concerns and challenges of the educated Afghan women and their hopes and expectations from women movements.

Muhtarama is mainly about the educated Afghan women and their common concerns that ranges from lack of political and social rights to domestic violence and troubled married lives to street harassment.

Muhtarama is a joint project undertaken by Diana Saqeb and Malek Shafi’i. In this movie, Malek Shafi’i follows Diana Saqeb, who is also one of the organizers of the protests against the Shia Law, and highlights the concerns and worries of like-minded women.

MOHTARAMA’s Trailer

21st YAGAMATA international documentary film festival was held on 10 to 17 October 2031 in Tokyo JAPAN. 

Call for 9th International 100 Film Festival

You as a filmmaker could be ethic composer, you could emerge patient, hope, enthusiasm, safety, nobility, and everything that a sophisticated society require for adolescents.

* International section 

- Documentary

- Fiction

- Animation

International section of the festival is exclusively for abroad participators. 

* International Award

- Festival statue, honorary diploma, and 3000$ to3 films selected by the jury. 

- Regulations

- Fill out the entry form

It is only possible through the web site of the community and festival center at www.100fest.com (Websiteopenssoon)

- Time of the works

The works send to the secretariat must be 100 seconds at maximum time.

* Title sequence considered as the time of the film. 

* sending the work

The works must be sent only in DVD in form of avi to secretariat of the festival.

NOTE: secretariat has no responsibility for damages due to improperness of the works 

EXPLANATION: the applicants should write down the reference number given after filling out the entry form on the DVD and send it to secretariat of the festival.

It is necessary for the filmmakers who desire to participate the festival with more than one work to provide separate DVD for each work.

* It is necessary to confirm the online summon of the festival at the time of registering which means the approval of all parts of the regulations.

*In case of no code of the work, the film will not be participated in festival.

* There is no possibility to exclude the film out of the festival program after it has been admitted. 

- participate limitation

The officials of the festival, the jury member, the selection team, and also the films participated in the previous festival have no right to attend the competition section of the festival.

* Each film will attend the festival under the ownership of one person as a director of the work.

* Participation of all filmmakers, units, national organizations and producers of private section by nominating one person as a director will face no objection.

* There is no limitation in the number of the works sending from the legal and juridical persons.

- Requirements

Copy of Identification Card + a 3*4 photograph of director

The requirements for the propaganda and the catalogue of the festival: photography of the backstage + photography of stage + the synopsis of the film, at least 60 words

Secretariat right

All of the films sent to the festival will have the capability of online release and the admitted films could be in use of any media and propaganda issues of secretariat after the premier reviewing.

* It is permissible to use the works with the caption or the logo of the festival only.

* There is no return for film sent to the festival 

* The secretariat carries the responsibility to take the final decision in case of unpredicted issues which are not mentioned in regulation. 

- The works to competition section

The admitted films will have the certificate of participation and will be released in cinemas.

* Introduction to ethics cinema

100 film festival is one of new cinematic communication that plays an essential role in promotion and development of works and also surveying fresh talent.

There is an effort to glorify the artists having an important role in promoting Iran cinema with ethic and human topics In section of this festival called “ethics cinema” regarding the constant slogan of the festival to be continued every year.

Festival Calendar

1-call for entry july 2013

2-submission deadline January 26th 2014

3-festival February 26th-28th 2014 -tehran-iran

Closing ceremony February 28th 2014

1st floor, HozehHonari central secretariat of festival (art center ), Hafez conjunction, Somaye Ave, Tehran, Iran

0098 21 88918301-2,Telephone Number:

Fax:0098 21 84172203

Behnam bahadori (Director of the International Committee)

Cell 0098 912 335 6317

behnambahadori@yahoo.com

Second Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival ends with awards and prizes ceremony

10 October 2013 – The second International Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival ended in the capital, Kabul, today, with an awards ceremony recognizing the best films screened over the past six days

In the national category, a short film entitled ‘The Last President,’ directed by a young Afghan filmmaker, Jamil Jalah, won the best film award. This production centred on a man’s dilemma over whom to vote for in a presidential election. The best male actor award went to Sayed Murtaza Alavi for his performance as the lead in ‘The Last President.’ 

The festival started on 5 October in Kabul and the central Afghan province of Bamyan, simultaneously. Over six days, a total of 65 documentary, fictional and animation productions centred on the issues of human rights, in short- and long-formats, were showcased. The films were selected out of 380 submissions from all over the world, including countries in the region such as Iran, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and India. Of the productions submitted for screening at the festival, 24 films were produced in Afghanistan. 

A five-member jury, made up of international film experts, reviewed the films and selected the top eight on the basis of their artistic merit and human rights themes and messaging. In addition to awards, the winning filmmakers received cash prizes. 

In the international category, an Armenian feature film by Natalya Belyauskene, ‘If Only Everyone,’ won the best film award. The film told the story of a young Russian woman who, after deciding to plant a tree on the grave of her deceased father, ends up on an unusual road trip that raises questions about the past, guilt and mistakes, while also portraying a range of Armenian rituals and traditions. 

Another short film, ‘Namzad’ (transl. Der Kandidat) won the second prize in the international category. Directed by Yosef Baraki, a young Afghan-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto, the film was about a single mother who tries to save her polio-stricken son from the horrors of Nazi eugenics. 

A documentary film, ‘Finding Hillywood,’ by Leah Warshawski, won the third prize in the same category. Set amongst the hills of Rwanda, this documentary chronicled one man’s road to forgiveness, his efforts to heal his country and deal with his past. 

Two other short documentary films, ‘The Broken Destiny of Poetry’ by Rahmatullah Haidari and ‘Black Democracy’ by Sayed Qasim Huseini, were given special awards. 

In the student film category, the short film ‘Sadat goes to Mazaar’ by Wais Sanjar and Khadem Hussain took out the top prize. ‘Snore’ by Arif Mohebbi and ‘A Letter from My Son’ by Azizullah Payanda won second and third prizes in this category, respectively. 

There was a three-way tie in the best actress category, with Lina Alam, Sabira Rezai and Freshta Kazimi sharing the top spot for their performances. Sadat Behnam won the best child actor award for his performance in ‘Sadat Goes to Mazaar.’ 

The festival was an initiative of the Afghanistan Cinematic Club (BASA), and is supported by several national and international organizations, including the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). The theme of this year’s festival was ‘We dream of a red apple that is shared with every citizen of the world.’ 

UNAMA’s role involved its Human Rights and its Strategic Communications and Spokespersons’ Units, which provided technical support and production advice to the festival’s organizers and some of the filmmakers, in addition to holding workshops – which took place during the festival – focused on various human rights issues and the role that film can play in relation to human rights, especially on women’s right. 

The first Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival was held in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif in 2011. That event was also the first film festival held in a Central Asian country. The week-long event screened 32 Afghan and 18 foreign films, out of a total of 200 productions which were submitted. 

News source UNAMA

Best Films of The First Afghanistan Student Film Festival Announced

Jury members of Afghanistan Student Film Festival included from Latif Ahmadi, Ibrahim Arify and Roya Sadat that selected 3 films as First prize, second prize and 3rd prize from between 12 short films.

1. Silence / Sara Motamedi

2. Guard of Shadows / Aref Alizadeh

3. A Gift from my Brother / Wais & Khadem Hussein

THe first Afghanistan Student Film Festival held on 28 to 29 October 2013 in Art department, Kabul university. 

One Jury, One film in competition and 9 short films in Kabul Fresh in 15th Mumbai International Film Festival.

Afghanistan may be in turbulence but it is producing some of the world’s best cinema.

Sediq Barmak famous filmmaker of our country will be one of jury member in Mumbai International Film Festival this year. Also One future film has been selected in international competition. 

Taking note of this, the 15th edition of the Mumbai Film Festival will show nine films under a segment called “Kabul Fresh.” Films will screened in 'Kabul Fresh: 

1. Eye witness / Rafi Behroozian & Alka Sadat

2. Driving Test / Mahbouba Ebrahimi

3. A Time Called Oldness / Hamed Alizadeh

4. End of Love / Ghafar Azad

5. Life Imprisonment / Gholamreza Majedi

6. One Wish / Mohammad Aref Abidian

7. The Glasses / Seyyed Hussein Mousavi

8. Kabul Ambulance / Taj Mohammad Bakhtari

9. Amir and Sara / Sayed Jalal Husseini

This is the second year that the festival will see films which mark the blossoming of the film movement in Afghanistan. Over 200 films from 65 countries will be shown at the Festival between October 17 and 24.

12 films has been selected for the first kabul student film festival.

Kabul Student Film Festival committee selection selected 12 films through 51 films for competition.

The selection committee members , including Mr. Siddiq Barmak, Mr. Mamnon Maqsodi, Mr. Aref Bahram, Mss. Alka Sadat, Mss. Sahra Mousavi and Mr. Hassan Fazili selected 12 movies from total 51 movies which the festival received this year from students of universities of Afghanistan.

THe first Kabul Student Film Festival will held on 28 to 29 Octobe 2013 in Art department, Kabul univercity. 

5 short films from Afghanistan in Eastern Breeze International Film Festival.

Short fiction; "The Out Post" / Sayed Jalal Husseini ; "The Unknown" / Abdulqafar Azad

"End of Story" / Ghafar Azad ; "The Death Row" / Maryam Ebrahimi Short Documentary and 

"The beggar" / Mohammad Reza Gholami has been selected on Eastern Breeze International Film Festival.

Eastern Breeze International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Toronto, Canada, which previews short and mid-length films of all genres, including documentary, animation, fiction and experimental, from around the world which contain an eastern taste or philosophy. This is a public film festival that takes place every October in Toronto.

Eastern Breeze International Film Festival aims to give new talent an opportunity to have their work screened for cinema fans who would be unable to find these films in their local movie theatres. EBIFF   strives to highlight the enigmatic eastern arts and cultures, introducing the existential humanist, and soulful characteristics of these bracing cultures in the context of a modern, Western Canada. By helping to bridge that gap, we celebrate Canada’s rich multicultural community.

The festival will highlight contributions from the quickly growing Canadian communities that come from the East. Today across Canada, these communities number 12 million people from Asia and the Middle East. In Ontario alone, over three million share an eastern culture, and it is to honour and display their cinematic contributions that Eastern Breeze rolls out this fall.

Eastern Breeze International Film Festival will held on 18 to 25 October in Toronto, Canada.

Afghanistan Human Rights International Film Festival Films has been selected

Afghanistan Short Film News Base(ASFNB) - Afghanistan Human Rights International Film Festival selection committee has finished for film selection. They have selected 46 films among 380 films from national and international films. They have selected 24 films for national and 23 films for international. Also 6 films has been selected for out of competition.

Afghanistan competition:
1. Wajme / Barmak Akram

2. My Sin / Ramin Yoosufi

3. Life imprisonment / Gholamreza Majedi

4. The Broken destiny of poetry / Neamat Haidari and Rahmat Haidari

5. A Wish / Mohammad (Aref) Abedian

6. On the String of forgetfulness / Aboozar Amini

7. Eyewitness - Rafee Behroozian & Alka Sadat

8. Afghan Women Behind the Wheel / Sahraa Karimi

9. Dorahi / Abdul Wahed Bakhtiar

10. The icy sun / Ramin Mohammadi

11. Swap / S. Masood Eslami

12. All human beings are member of one framel!? / Javid Merzaei

13. Little Afghanistan / Basir Seerat

14. The last president Jamil Jalla

15. Travel to The Dark / Wahed Habibi & Jalal Jamshidi

16. House 111 / Aziz Deldar

17. Guard of Shadows / Mohammad Arif Alizada

18. Story of a documentary / Sayed Zia Qasemi

19. End of love / Ghafar Azad

20. A women singing in the desert / Alka Sadat

21. The dog married to sheep / Hassan Fazili

22. The Unknown / Abdul Ghafar Faizyar

23. The life is beautiful / Sear Noorzad

24. Play on the play / Lajaward Haqiqi


International competition: 
1. The story of the book - Roberto Orazi / Italy

2. The Boy Mir - Phil Grabsky / UK

3. The Weight of the word - Costanza quatriglio / Italy

4. Iran southwestern - Mohammad Reza Fartousi / Iran

5. Daily Check-up - Mriganka Sonal / India

6. Duam - Abeer Zeibak Haddad/ Israel

7. Fire in the blood - Dylan Mohan Gray / India

8. White night - IRIT GAL / Israel

9. Platform no.5 - C. VANAJA / India

10. A drop of sunshine - APARNA SANYAL / India

11. Ancient Nomads - MARSBEK BUZURMANKULO / Kyrgyzstan

12. No man`s land - MICHAEL GRAVERSEN / Denmark

13. Much ado about knotting - GEETIKA NARAG ABBASI & ANANDANA KAPUR / India

14. Night of silence - REIS CELIK / Turkey

15. Dance with me - MARYAM PIRBAND / Iran

16. For what… - BATTULGA.S / Mongolia

17. While the wind blows - SERGEY POTAPOV / Russia

18. The 40th door / ELCHIN MUSAOGLU / Azerbaijan

19. If only everyone / NATALIA BELYAUSKENE / Armenia

20. Der kandidat / YOSEF BARAKI / Germany

21. Complicit / GAVIN HOFFMAN / Ireland

22. True Noon / NOSIR SAIDOV / Tajikistan

23.Finding Hilly wood / LEAH WARSHAWSKI / USA


Out of Competition:
1. Not at home / Shahrbano Sadat

2. The Virgin Minarets / Farhad Rezaie

3. Light and darkness / Fardin Barakzai

4. School Bus / Maryam Nabil Kamal

5. We come home / Ariana Delawari

6. Dusty Night / Ali Hazara

Second Afghanistan International Human Rights Film Festival will held on 5-10 October 2013 in Kabul.

Women's Voices Now - Call for Submissions

Women's Voices Now - Call for Submissions:

Women Bought and Sold: Voices United Against the Violence

$30,000 in CASH PRIZES
Categories: Documentary, Fiction, Experimental, and Student.
Deadlines: Submissions are OPEN until December 31, 2013. Late submissions accepted until January 31, 2014.

Women's Voices Now (WVN), a Los Angeles-based not-for-profit social enterprise is calling for film submissions for Women Bought and Sold: Voices United Against the Violence. The Festival is open to filmmakers of all genders, nationalities, and faiths. [For more detail on the subject of the film submission, see below.]

Subject Matter: Women Bought and Sold: Voices United Against the Violence aims to amplify the voices of women of all faiths and backgrounds living in Muslim-majority societies around the globe. The subject matter of the films must be pertinent to the scope of the Festival: (i) focus on the issues of sex trafficking, slavery, domestic servitude, forced marriage, and sexual harassment; portray both the plight and the relentless struggle of exploited women; display the role of men and women in Muslim-majority societies in eradicating such injustices; and develop the network committed to achieving justice and equality; (ii) amplify the voices of women living in Muslim- majority societies and Muslim women living as minorities around the globe; these women's struggles, the challenges they face, the solutions that have been identified, and the success stories that have resulted.

Submission: The Festival accepts submissions from both amateur and professional filmmakers. Pursuant to WVN's goal of reaching and educating people around the world, WVN requests that films be made available for viewing online. For submission guidelines and application forms, please visit the WVN Film Festival page on our website: http://womensvoicesnow.org/submit- film. 

Please carefully review the rules and regulations for each film category before submitting your film.

If you have any questions, please contact us via e-mail:

WVNfilmfestival2014@womensvoicesnow.org.

Prizes, Connections, and Gratitude: Women’s Voices Now will coordinate cash prizes to be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and honorable mention winners in each film category based on the decisions of our panel of judges. We also hope that at the Festival events we intend to coordinate that you will connect with others who share your support and work for pro-women voices.

Support: WVN is a not-for-profit organization. Please also consider making a donation to our work by visiting our Donations page. Support our work by following us on Facebook and Twitter, and sign up for our newsletter and monthly publication, The WVoice.

Contact Information:

WVNfilmfestival2014@womensvoicesnow.org

www.womensvoicesnow.org 

MOHTARAMA Documentary film by Malek Shafi`i and Diana Saqib has been selected in YAGAMATA International Film Festival

A documentary film from Afghanistan has been selected in YAGAMATA International Documentary Film Festival.

MOHTARAMA is a joined project documentary by Malek Shafi’i and Diana Saqeb, tow Afghanistani documentary filmmakers based in Kabul.

19 short and feature documentaries has been selected to competing for the "New Asian Currents" Yamagata Documentary Film Festival.

In 2009, the Afghan Parliament approved the Shia Family Law, which was then signed by President Karzai. The law severely restricted women’s freedom, making it illegal for them to exit the house without their husband’s consent or resisting to their husband’s sexual demands.

The Afghan women who were against this law, gathered and protested in front of Afghanistan’s biggest religious school where the law was written with support from Sheikh Asif Mohsini (an Islamic scholar and the founder of the school). The protests turned violent as the students of the school began humiliating the women protestors by beating, spitting, and labeling them as “Western followers”.

This was one of the first major movements by women for their rights. This seemed to be the right time to visit other provinces to learn about the concerns and challenges of the educated Afghan women and their hopes and expectations from women movements.

Muhtarama is mainly about the educated Afghan women and their common concerns that ranges from lack of political and social rights to domestic violence and troubled married lives to street harassment.

Muhtarama is a joint project undertaken by Diana Saqeb and Malek Shafi’i. In this movie, Malek Shafi’i follows Diana Saqeb, who is also one of the organizers of the protests against the Shia Law, and highlights the concerns and worries of like-minded women.

MOHTARAMA’s Trailer

21st YAGAMATA international documentary film festival will held on 10 to 17 October 2031 in Tokyo JAPAN. 

The 14. Izmir Short Film Festival

2013 Rules & Regulations
Deadline for submissions: September 1, 2013

All entries including the completion of the online entry form and sending of screeners must be submitted for arrival at the Festival offices by September 1, 2013.

Competition and Awards
International Competition – Golden Cat Award for Best Film
National Competition - Golden Cat Award for Best Film
National Competition - Golden Cat Award for Most Promising Actor/Actress

In addition to these awards, the Jury may also decide to give a Special Jury Award to a film in competition.

National and International Competition Regulations:

1. Each year, the Izmir Short Film Festival opens a short film competition in the National andInternational categories. Narrative, documentary, animated and experimental shorts are eligible for the competitions.

2. All applicants should fill out the application form online. Incomplete entry forms will not be considered.

3. The jury is comprised of a president and four members chosen from among leading national and international figures in cinema, culture and art. The decisions of the Jury are final.

4. All productions made on 35mm, 16mm or in digital and video formats are eligible for the festival. All submissions should be recorded in DVD/HD or BLURAY (PAL format).

5. All submissions that are not in English must have English subtitles.

6. The following materials should be sent for a film submission:
The online entry form, duly filled out, which includes the film credits, a short synopsis of the film, director’s biography and filmography.

One multi-zone or region-free DVD copy of the film OR a password-protected link (e.g. Vimeo) with English subtitles (to be included in the online entry form). Each DVD must be clearly marked with the film’s title, director’s name, year and country of production and runtime.

The Festival address is:

İzmir Short Film Festival, Attn: Program Department
Cumhuriyet Bulvari No: 133 Okan Apt. K:6 D:5
Alsancak 35220 Izmir, Turkey.
Phone: +90 232 466 0202, E-mail: program@izmirkisafilm.org

7. The International Competition is open to entries from all nations. In order to be able to compete in the National Competition, the director or one of the producers must be a . 7. Turkish citizen. All films that are eligible for the National Competition will also be considered for the International Competition.

8. The films must not exceed 30 minutes.

9. To be eligible for the competitions, the films must not have been released or publicly screened before October 2012.

10. Unless approved in advance by the Festival, films may not be publicly broadcast via TV, Internet or otherwise, prior to or during the Festival’s 2013 edition.

11. Applicants may submit more than one film.

12. Festival will send out film invitations by September 2013. The invitation will include a list of materials to be duly completed and returned to the Festival within two weeks of receiving the invitation. An English dialog list is required for all films, even those in English, to be used for subtitling in Turkish. All exhibition copies must reach the Festival offices no later than October 30, 2013. If the exhibition copy is not in perfect condition, the Festival may refuse to present it. The Festival reserves the right to withdraw a film that it deems technically unsuitable for screening.

13. Films submitted cannot be withdrawn after October 15, 2013.

14. The Festival reserves the right to screen each film up to three times during the Festival period and will decide, at its sole discretion, the screening schedule for each film.

15. The Festival program will be announced by November 1, 2013 on www.izmirkisafilm.org.

16. The Festival reserves the right to assign each film to the section it believes most appropriate.

17. The invitation must remain strictly confidential until the Festival’s program is officially announced. Any exception must be approved in writing by the Festival.

18. Work-in-progress projects may be submitted but must be identified as such on the entry form. A final version of the film must arrive at Festival offices by October 15, 2013.

19. Shipping costs for submissions must be covered by the sender. Submission materials will not be returned.

20. The Festival reserves the right not to comment on the reasons for not selecting a film.

21. The Festival reserves the right to change the above Rules & Regulations without notice.

22. Submission of a film implies unconditional acceptance of the Rules & Regulations.

Plese click here to apply online.

Source

SUBMIT YOUR FILMS TO ZAGREBDOX 2014

The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2013.

Directors, producers and other film authorities are hereby invited to submit documentary films for the 9th International Documentary Film Festival ZagrebDox, taking place in Zagreb from  February 23 to March 2, 2014.

Submissions can only be made by filling out the online form.

The festival program consists of the Competition Program, Official Program (special thematic programs) and Retrospectives.

The Competition Program consists of International Competition and Regional Competition.

The International Competition includes films from all over the world, except those competing in the Regional Competition.

Eligible to compete in the Regional Competition are the films produced or co-produced in one of the following countries: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Croatia, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia and Romania.

Only the documentary films completed after 1 January, 2012 can compete in the Competition Program.

The deadline for submissions is 15 October, 2013.

There is no submission charge.

The entry rules and conditions can be found on the user pages upon registration.

Please contact info@zagrebdox.net for any additional inquiries.

Call for Entry Tricky Women 2014

Tricky Women Award of the City of Vienna worth 4000 Euro
3-month scholarship to live and work at quartier21/MQ under the Artist-in-Residence Program
Synchro Film & Video Material Prize worth 1,500 Euro
Sawczynski-Award worth 1,000 Euro
Sielecki Award worth 750 Euro (for an Austrian animation)
Tricky Women Audience Award
Awards and prize money will go to the directresses of the films.

The festival offers an international competition of animated short films realised by female artists (male co-directors are welcome) and finished after January 1st, 2012. Each filmmaker, producer or distributor may submit as many films as they like. Each film submitted must be accompanied by an entry form and sent on a separate DVD. No films entered in prior Tricky Women Festivals shall be admitted.

The deadline for applications for the preliminary selection is October 18th, 2013.

The entry can (and that is NEW!) be up-loaded via www.shortfilmdepot.com or sent by snail mail directly to Tricky Women.

Announcement for AHRF Student section!

Announcement for AHRF Student section! 

AHRF are delighted to inform you about final selection of 'Afghanistan Human Rights FilmFestival' student section. The selection committee members , including Mss. Dr.Homayra Qaderi, Mr. Aziz Dildar (professors of Kabul University) and Mr. Ibrahim Bamyani (Documentary Filmmaker) selected 12 movies from total 33 movies which we received this year from students of universities of Afghanistan. 

AHRF will announce the main AHRF selection committee members at next.

Mourteza Shahed and Fatima Husseini from Afghanistan in ASIAN FILM ACADEMY.

Mourteza Shahed and Fatima Hassani from Afghanistan has been selected to attend in 9th Asian Film Academy.

Busan International Film Festival has announced the 24 fellows for 9th Asian Film Academy (AFA) which will train future Asian filmmakers. This year, 228 applicants have submitted applications for AFA under a competitive rate of 9.5:1 that shows the consistent interest in AFA by Asian filmmakers.

Ali Mousavi Azad with "The Value of Women?" in 15th Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival

The Value of Women? bas been selected in 15th Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival.

"The Value of Women?" short documentary by Ali Mousavi Azad and Es`haq Alimardany has been selected in 15th Tel Aviv International Student Film Festival.

"The Vale of Women?" story is about Women living in the Islamic society of Afghanistan are not content with their situation and lack of freedom. They believe some Islamic laws prevent them from doing the things they want: choosing a spouse, pursuing an education and working outside the home.

This film also was official selection in Women`s Voices Now Film Festival in USA on 2011.

Last year "Uncrowded" Short fiction film by Ali Mousavi Azad with 2 others short films from Afghanistan was selected on TAU International Film Festival.

This festival will held on 19-24 June 2013 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Second Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival (AHRF)

Open Call for entries: Afghanistan Human Rights Film Festival (AHRF),
Kabul, Afghanistan
Deadline: June 30, 2013

AHRF is pleased to invite entries from film makers, both national and international, for its first film festival to be held in Kabul,
AHRF seeks to be a new window to an open and better society by screening critical films on human rights.
The festival welcomes films in all genres: short or long, documentary, feature, animation and experimental. All films should have been produced no earlier than 2000. National and international entries are welcome. All films should have human rights as their main focus.

Please refer to AHRF rules and regulation document to learn more about submission rules.
Contact us for more information:
www.ahrfestival.org
info@ahrfestival.org
submit@ahrfestival.org
+93 7000 83 908
+93 777 14 6666

Short films to compete at Cannes announced

New Zealand director Jane Campion, who won the Palme d'Or in 1993 for "The Piano" and the top short film prize in 1986 for "Peel" will head the jury.

The short film selection committee sifted through over 3,500 submissions from filmmakers in 132 countries to pick just nine to compete at the film fest.

The works selected are: Ali Asgari "More Than Two Hours" (Iran); Mohammed Abou Nasser "Condom Lead" (Palestinian Territories, Jordan); Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson "Whale Valley" (Iceland, Denmark); Sasaki Omoi "The Meteorite and Impotence" (Japan); Gilles Coulier "Mont Blanc" (Belgium); Elzbieta Benkowska "Olena" (Poland); Annarita Zambrano "Ophelia" (France); Moon Byounggon "Safe" (South Korea); and Adriano Valerio "374S" (France).

Cannes organisers also unveiled the 18 films selected to compete in the Cinefondation selection which highlights student films from around the world.

They include 14 fiction films and four animated films chosen from the 1,500-odd films submitted.

Three Cinefondation prizes will be awarded.

Nine films will compete for the short film Palme d'Or at next month's Cannes film festival, including a Palestinian work for the first time, organisers said. New Zealand director Jane Campion, pictured in Berlin on February 11, 2013, will head the jury.

Afghan films at Guggenheim NYC

MARCH 12, 2013 BY PASCALE BASTIDE

History of Histories: Afghan Films, 1960 to Present

Fri, Mar 1, 15, 22, and 29, 2 pm

Organized by independent curator Leeza Ahmady and artist Mariam Ghani, this series of fiction films, newsreels, and documentaries juxtaposes contemporary work with selections from the archive of Afghanistan’s national film institute, and documents Afghanistan’s history and vibrant culture. English subtitles.

Leeza Ahmady and Mariam Ghani introduce the film program on March 1 and March 29.

Qadar Tahiri, Khan-e-Tarikh(The House of History), 1996. Courtesy Afghan Films

March 1, 2 pm

Selections from the Afghan Films Archive(1967–80, 54 min.)

In these newsreels, documentary and propaganda shorts, and feature film clips drawn from the archive of Afghan Films, Afghanistan’s national film institute, the changing fashions, mores and politics of the constantly reconfigured state are reflected. With films from the end of the monarchy (the Zahir Shah period), the Daoud republic, the Afghan Communist republic, and the Soviet puppet state.

Khan-e-Tarikh
(The House of History, 1996, 20 min., dir. Qader Tahiri)

The only documentary produced by Afghan Films during the civil war years, The House of History is an intensely personal essay film directed by longtime cameramen Qader Tahiri that incorporates footage shot by six other cameramen from 1991–96 and poetic narration by Sher Mohammed Khara. The first half chronicles the destruction of Kabul during the civil war, while the second half meditates on the ruin of Kabul’s archaeological museum and the efforts to save fragments left behind after its destruction in 1991.

Fiction Shorts by the Jump Cut Film Collective
(2009–10, 10 min.)

The Jump Cut Film Collective was founded in Kabul in 2009 by a group of young, independent filmmakers who share both production duties and formal concerns. In the Name of Opium (dir. Sayed Jalal Hussaini) lies at the more experimental end of their output, with a completely nontraditional, circular or open-ended narrative structure and no dialogue. Formally, however, it is among the most completely realized of their films, with strong cinematography setting up a series of memorable images, each a small story in itself, and each a part of a larger opium-driven vicious cycle.

Feature: Akhtar Maskara
(Akhtar the Joker, 1980, 90 min., dir. Latif Ahmadi)

A stinging social critique of the gap between rich and poor, old and new Kabulis at the end of the 1970s, and the story of an unusual young man who falls into the cracks in between. Based on the novel by Aham Rahaward Zariab, and commissioned by the Parcham government, the film was shot by beloved director Latif Ahmadi in only 18 days; perhaps because of the literary source material, perhaps because of the compressed production time, it has a quality unlike anything else in Afghan cinema, with sharp cinematography, a twisting plot, and occasional breaks where our unreliable narrator (Faqir Nabi) addresses the camera directly.

Total run time 169 min.

Barmak Akram, Kabuli Kid, 2009

March 15, 2 pm

Documentary Shorts from Ateliers Varan Kabul
(2011, 47 min.)

Ateliers Varan, the documentary training program initiated by direct cinema pioneer Jean Rouch, has operated workshops in Kabul since 2006, in cooperation with Afghan Films and Radio Television Afghanistan. Shorts produced in Varan Kabul workshops have been screened in major documentary film festivals and broadcast internationally. The shorts Dusty Night and The Postman were produced during a workshop around “The Streets of Kabul,” and observe the rituals and rhythms of the city without judgment or commentary, unless offered by the participants observed. In Mohamed Ali Hazara’s Dusty Night, a group of street cleaners who fight a losing battle against the ever-present dust coating the city, and in Wahid Nazir’s The Postman, the eponymous postman Khan Agha attempts to deliver mail in a city reconstructed without a formal system of street names or house numbers.

Fiction Shorts by the Jump Cut Film Collective
(2009–10, 28 min.)

The Jump Cut Film Collective was founded in Kabul in 2009 by a group of young, independent filmmakers, who share both production duties and formal concerns. The early shorts ANT (dir. Hashem Didari) and Devious (dir. Sayed Jalal Hussaini) display Jump Cut’s preoccupation with narrative filmmaking that uses nonlinear temporal structures, as well as their interest in the illegal and informal economies, the petty and not so petty thefts, grifts, and deceits that spring from the inequities and poverty of Kabul.

Feature: Kabuli Kid
(2009, 94 min., dir. Barmak Akram)

In writer-director Barmak Akram’s debut feature, the life of cab driver Khaled (Hadji Gul) is thrown for a loop when he discovers that his last passenger left an infant boy in the backseat. Determined to do the right thing, Khaled embarks upon a chaotic adventure from one end of war-torn Kabul to the other to find the mother, all the while finding himself increasingly attached to the young life that fate has placed in his hands.

Total run time 169 min.

Latif Ahmadi, Akhtar Maskara(Akhtar the Joker), 1980. Courtesy of Afghan Films

March 22, 2 pm

Selections from the Afghan Films Archive
(1967–80, 54 min.)

In these newsreels, documentary and propaganda shorts, and feature film clips drawn from the archive of Afghan Films, Afghanistan’s national film institute, the changing fashions, mores, and politics of the constantly reconfigured state are reflected. With films from the end of the monarchy (the Zahir Shah period), the Daoud republic, the Afghan Communist republic, and the Soviet puppet state.

Khan-e-Tarikh
(The House of History, 1996, 20 min., dir. Qader Tahiri)

The only documentary produced by Afghan Films during the civil war years, The House of History is an intensely personal essay film directed by longtime cameramen Qader Tahiri that incorporates footage shot by six other cameramen from 1991–96, and poetic narration by Sher Mohammed Khara. The first half chronicles the destruction of Kabul during the civil war, while the second half meditates on the ruin of Kabul’s archaeological museum and the efforts to save fragments left behind after its destruction in 1991.

Fiction Shorts by the Jump Cut Film Collective
(2009–10, 10 min.)

The Jump Cut Film Collective was founded in Kabul in 2009 by a group of young, independent filmmakers, who share both production duties and formal concerns. In the Name of Opium (dir. Sayed Jalal Hussaini) lies at the more experimental end of their output, with a completely nontraditional, circular or open-ended narrative structure and no dialogue. Formally, however, it is among the most completely realized of their films, with strong cinematography setting up a series of memorable images, each a small story in itself, and each a part of a larger opium-driven vicious cycle.

Feature: Akhtar Maskara
(Akhtar the Joker, 1980, 90 min., dir. Latif Ahmadi)

A stinging social critique of the gap between rich and poor, old and new Kabulis at the end of the 1970s, and the story of an unusual young man who falls into the cracks in between. Based on the novel by Aham Rahaward Zariab, and commissioned by the Parcham government, the film was shot by beloved director Latif Ahmadi in only eighteen days; perhaps because of the literary source material, perhaps because of the compressed production time, it has a quality unlike anything else in Afghan cinema, with sharp cinematography, a twisting plot, and occasional breaks where our unreliable narrator (Faqir Nabi) addresses the camera directly.

Total running time 174 min

Toryalai Shafaq, Mujasemaha Mekhandan (The Sculptures Are Laughing), 1976. Courtesy of Afghan Films

March 29, 2 pm

Documentary Shorts from Ateliers Varan Kabul(2011, 47 min.)

Ateliers Varan, the documentary training program initiated by direct cinema pioneer Jean Rouch, has operated workshops in Kabul since 2006, in cooperation with Afghan Films and Radio Television Afghanistan. Shorts produced in Varan Kabul workshops have been screened in major documentary film festivals and broadcast internationally. The shorts Dusty Night and The Postman were produced during a workshop around “The Streets of Kabul,” and observe the rituals and rhythms of the city without judgment or commentary, unless offered by the participants observed. In Mohamed Ali Hazara’s Dusty Night, a group of street cleaners who fight a losing battle against the ever-present dust coating the city, and in Wahid Nazir’s The Postman, the eponymous postman Khan Agha attempts to deliver mail in a city reconstructed without a formal system of street names or house numbers.

Fiction Shorts by the Jump Cut Film Collective
(2009–10, 28 min.)

The Jump Cut Film Collective was founded in Kabul in 2009 by a group of young, independent filmmakers, who share both production duties and formal concerns. The early shorts ANT (dir. Hashem Didari) and Devious (dir. Sayed Jalal Hussaini) display Jump Cut’s preoccupation with narrative filmmaking that uses nonlinear temporal structures, as well as their interest in the illegal and informal economies, the petty and not so petty thefts, grifts, and deceits that spring from the inequities and poverty of Kabul.

Feature: Mujasemaha Mekhandan
(The Sculptures Are Laughing, 1976, 81 min., dir. Toryalai Shafaq)

The deliriously paced story of an artist who falls in love with a spoiled rich girl, who marries a gangster that then draws both her and her former love into his wacky schemes. A window into life in Daoud’s republic, from art school and fashion shows to house parties and weddings.

Total run time 156 min.

Source