Showing @ CCA, Glasgow, Sun 12 Oct only @ 14.45
Taj Mohammah Bakhatari, Jen Pedersen / Afghanistan/Denmark / 2013 / 17 mins
The recent decision to begin another bombing campaign in Iraq has divided public opinion; some believe it’s the only way to stop ISIS, others are wary of the indiscriminate damage that may occur. Taj Mohammah Bakhatari and Jens Pedersen’s moving documentary follows eleven-year-old Faridullah, whose father has practically had to enslave his whole family to a local brick factory owner after their home was destroyed in one of the Afghanistan wars.
Trapped in a cycle of endlessly paying off debts, Faridullah has been working since he was six. Scenes of him straining with an over-loaded wheelbarrow of mud, having to pause for breath on even quite short distances, evoke images of the Victorian workhouse. This feeling is accentuated by the snide and sinister boss who moans about a sore hand in front of his crew of bedraggled minors. Due to the mucky conditions, Faridullah and his sisters seem constantly covered in a film of dirt, sleeping in their grubby work clothes.
Faridullah has an extremely mature attitude about it, not minding the notion of working but just wishing he could get an education too. It is an amazing trait of childhood that he and his sisters are able to see past their present situation and dream of what their life could be. It’s easy in the West to view our military actions as purely peacekeeping missions but this film reveals the aftermath on the ground, highlighting how the misery of war can continue long after the fighting has stopped.
Showing as part of the Document International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival 2014