Thursday, June 28, 2007

Deedenow Cinema presents its first short fiction




“Treasure in the ruins” is in post production!

Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production and Razi Film House have been lately busy with the project of the short fiction “Treasure in the ruins” Amin Wahidi’s first experience in directing short fiction.
This short film was first titled “Homa” and then “I am hungry mom” and now when it is in post production it has different title “Treasure in the ruins”.
This year we planed to produce it in March but it was delayed due to some technical problems we faced.
Amin Wahidi on the set, directing "Treasure in the ruins"

After completion and revision of the screenplay, the pre- production of this short film including location selection, casting, coordination and all issues took about a week and the shooting took eight days in Kabul and its suburbs and now the film is in post production while Razi Film House technically plays a significant role to this project of Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production.
The screenplay is written by Amin Wahidi and it is finally directed by him.
It is to say that in the beginning it was planed to be produced incorporation with Academy of Art and Cinematic Education but these days Academy of Art and Cinematic Education is busy with their cinema course.

It is very difficult to make a film even a short one in Afghanistan

The story of this film is about a small girl who is looking for treasures in the ruin buildings of Kabul after hearing the tales of treasures form her sick mother; poverty, hunger, ruins and the war affected children are focused on in this short film.


posters for "Treasure in the ruins"

Film information:
Film title: Treasure in the ruins
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 video
Language: Dari (Persian)
Producer: Deed-e-now Cinema Production / Razi Film House
Production year: 2007
Status: Post- Production

lack of resources to design sets for our films


“Treasure in the ruins”
(The story of a curious little girl in the ruins of Afghanistan)

Synopsis:
Homa is a seven 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 her brother Homayoon. 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, Homa goes to live far away from her real life and live in her imaginations. She decides to look for and find out the treasures in the ruins of the town to cure her mother with.
Finally she faces with different things the remainders of the years of wars 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 at the end her mother dies and Homa .....


Amin Wahidi explaining the scene to the crew

Crew and cast:
Sound man:
Light man:
Set designer: Hamid Ali Zada
Production assistant: Mehdi Zafari
Cameraman: Razi Mohebi
Editor:
Casting director: Sohaila Mohebi
Music by:
Executive Producer: Razi Mohebi
Assistant Director:
Screenplay writer & Director: Mohammad Amin Wahidi

Amin Wahidi the director with Asifa and Azizullah two child actors


Azizullah and Asifa two main characters


Aqela Rezayee has had roles in three films of Makhmalbaf Film House


Azizullah Jafari plays the role of Homa's brother Homayoon

Actors and Actresses:
Aqela Rezayee as the Mother
Asifa Abdul Hussain as Homa
Aziz Jafari as Homayoon
Ms Hussaini as school teacher
Ramin as a vendor boy
Metra Wahidi as Azada
Saiema Jafari as Fatima
Abdullah Jafari as the passenger
Somaya Jafari as the wood collector girl
Fahima Wahidi as the second wood collector girl
Police officers of district seventh police station

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!
It is to say that after completion this film will be sent to the national and international film festivals.

Future plans:
After this short film “The keys to Paradise” and “The great desire” are the second and third screenplays which are also written by Mohammad Amin Wahidi will be produced by Deedenow Cinema Filmmaking Production ® Afghanistan.
“The keys to paradise” is about an Afghan suicide bomber who at the last minutes decides not to suicide himself. “The keys to 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.
“The great desire” is the story of a young shepherd whose greatest desire is to be a school student when he sees school students of his age pass by him every day. He makes every effort to at least hold a bag of a school student for a moment to feel himself instead of him.

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

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