Browse Titles - 2 results
See details
Postcards From Tora Bora
directed by Wazhmah Osman, fl. 2007 and Kelly Dolak, fl. 2007; produced by Kelly Dolak, fl. 2007 (Watertown, MA: Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 2007), 1 hour 27 mins
At the height of the Cold War, the Osman family frantically escapes from Afghanistan while leaving almost everything behind. In the ensuing chaos, their only suitcase filled with family photos is stolen. Now after two decades of living in America, Wazhmah Osman, a young Afghan-American woman returns to her childho...
Sample
directed by Wazhmah Osman, fl. 2007 and Kelly Dolak, fl. 2007; produced by Kelly Dolak, fl. 2007 (Watertown, MA: Documentary Educational Resources (DER), 2007), 1 hour 27 mins
Description
At the height of the Cold War, the Osman family frantically escapes from Afghanistan while leaving almost everything behind. In the ensuing chaos, their only suitcase filled with family photos is stolen. Now after two decades of living in America, Wazhmah Osman, a young Afghan-American woman returns to her childhood home. Armed only with rapidly fading memories, she recruits some unlikely and reluctant guides to put together the pieces of her pas...
At the height of the Cold War, the Osman family frantically escapes from Afghanistan while leaving almost everything behind. In the ensuing chaos, their only suitcase filled with family photos is stolen. Now after two decades of living in America, Wazhmah Osman, a young Afghan-American woman returns to her childhood home. Armed only with rapidly fading memories, she recruits some unlikely and reluctant guides to put together the pieces of her past.
On an alternately sad and humorous quest, she encounters confused cabbies, the enthusiastic former minister of the tourism bureau, amuseum director that archives land mines, and a group of angry street vendors. As Wazhmah desperately searches for any tangible evidence of her former life, the journey leads her to many unexpected places. Amidst the rubble and destruction, she finds her estranged father who in the aftermath of war choose his country over his family. On the road, Wazhmah frequently finds herself at a strange intersection where cultures clash, identities are mistaken, and the past violently collides with the present.
The filmmakers incorporate recovered Super 8 home movies and family photos that offer a rare and unprecedented look at 1960s and 1970s pre-war Afghanistan. Travel brochures are animated to reveal the country's peaceful past. Drawings by orphan children are animated to illustrate the Soviet invasion and subsequent wars. Interviews with Wazhmah's family and on the ground interviews with shopkeepers, teachers, orphans, and soldiers bring to light Wazhmah's personal journey and the country's current situation.
Show more
Show less
Field of Study
Asian Studies
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Kelly Dolak, fl. 2007
Author / Creator
Wazhmah Osman, fl. 2007, Kelly Dolak, fl. 2007
Date Published / Released
2007
Publisher
Documentary Educational Resources (DER)
Topic / Theme
Government, Nationalism, War, Humanities
Copyright Message
Copyright © 2009 by Documentary Educational Resources
×
See details
The Tears of Mesopotamia
directed by Baudouin Koenig (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 2001), 1 hour 1 mins
The ancient land between the Tigris and Euphrates, known historically as Mesopotamia, is now a flash point between Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Traditionally, it was presumed that a dispute over oil would ignite a war here. Now it seems that water will be the key to war or peace. A French journalist took two years explo...
Sample
directed by Baudouin Koenig (New York, NY: Filmakers Library, 2001), 1 hour 1 mins
Description
The ancient land between the Tigris and Euphrates, known historically as Mesopotamia, is now a flash point between Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Traditionally, it was presumed that a dispute over oil would ignite a war here. Now it seems that water will be the key to war or peace. A French journalist took two years exploring this ruggedly beautiful and troubled part of the world. He wanted to see the aftermath of the Iran/Iraqi and the Gulf Wars. How ha...
The ancient land between the Tigris and Euphrates, known historically as Mesopotamia, is now a flash point between Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Traditionally, it was presumed that a dispute over oil would ignite a war here. Now it seems that water will be the key to war or peace. A French journalist took two years exploring this ruggedly beautiful and troubled part of the world. He wanted to see the aftermath of the Iran/Iraqi and the Gulf Wars. How had the wars affected the people, and what had been won or lost in the conflicts? In village after village, defying the censorship of the military, he probes the inhabitants about their memories, their lives, and their views on Saddam Hussein, the Arab world, and the West. What emerges is a picture of a people living on the edge, impoverished by war, hounded by the military, and in the case of the Kurds, betrayed by the West during their uprising against Saddam. The Tears of Mesopotamia allows one to feel the plight of ordinary people caught in political and economic circumstances out of control. An important film for Westerners who have little access to this part of the world College Adult
Show more
Show less
Field of Study
World History
Content Type
Documentary
Author / Creator
Baudouin Koenig
Date Published / Released
2001
Publisher
Filmakers Library
Topic / Theme
War, Humanities
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1998. Used by permission of Filmakers Library. All rights reserved.
×
