Product Reviews
In the fall of 1987, cinematographer Lee Shapiro was working with filmmaker James Lindelof on a film about political unrest in Afghanistan when they were caught in the middle of an ambush; both men lost their lives in the attack. Suzanne Bauman and Jim Burroughs were close friends of Shapiro, and they decided to make a film about Afghanistan in order to pay homage to their friend and allow his footage to be seen. Shadow of Afghanistan examines the troubled history of the nation in the 20th century, beginning with Dwight D. Eisenhower's visit to Afghanistan in 1959 on through the 1974 coup d' tat, the Soviet occupation of the country, and the later rise of the Taliban, up to America's invasion following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. While documenting the violence that has torn at the nation over the years, Bauman and Burroughs also offer a glimpse of day-to-day life for ordinary Afghan people, visiting military camps, refugee centers, and small communities where folks try to live their lives despite the constant turmoil. Shadow of Afghanistan received its world premiere at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Product Notes
This is the epic story of Afghanistan - seen through the eyes of an Afghan warrior and independent filmmakers - some who lived and one who died covering the story. For over 20 years they filmed the Soviet occupation; the exile of two million refugees maimed by Soviet mines; a violent civil war; the fatal alliance of the Taliban with al-Qaeda; invasion by United States forces; now, a people still determined to survive. "Shadow of Afghanistan" will be an important film for the Muslim community, who are misunderstood by so many since 9-11. The Afghan people may see the way out of terrorism more clearly than most. As Commander Wakil Akbarzai says in our film, "Your planes were hijacked. My country was hijacked." This is also a film for young audiences, who know so little about the Cold War era, and are most at risk in this new era of terrorism. We have been struck by how little of the history behind the terrorist headlines is finding its way to American audiences. American television is seduced by the ever-changing present, but no insight comes without understanding the past. A history that is not understood is one that will come back to cast a long shadow.