Brent huffman on saving mes aynak and the geography of gandharan art the geography of gandharan art, 22nd23rd march. Saving mes aynak examines the conflict between cultural preservation and economic opportunity through the lens of the afghan archaeologists and local villagers who work and live near mes aynak. Located within afghanistans talibancontrolled logar province, mes aynak is a 5,000 yearold bronze age site and. The film is expected to debut on netflix in january. My fear is that well all gasp in horror when the mes aynak site is destroyed but wont do much when there was actually time to save it. The awardwinning film saving mes aynak follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold buddhist archeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition by a. Jun 10, 2015 the awardwinning documentary saving mes aynak was a hit at idfa 2014 and full frame 2015, but more than just a documentary its also harnessing an activist campaign to save this ancient site. Mes aynak, which is 5,000 years old and covers more than 500,000 square meters, is truly one of the unseen wonders of the world.
The alchymical garden of sir thomas browne marbhna mixed materials, carolyn trant. Through our film saving mes aynak, our major goal is to raise mass awareness of the impending demolition, creating an international movement to put pressure on the mining company, the afghanistan government, and unesco to make mes aynak a world heritage site. Professor and director of saving mes aynak brent e. Saving mes aynak shows the sheer determination of the. Get 50% off hundreds of family movies when you preorder on fandangonow today. A chinese stateowned mining company plans to mine the copper deposits beneath it. It was produced out of kartemquin films, the landmark chicagobased documentary house, along with producer zak piper. Saving mes aynak is a 2014 independent documentary film, directed, produced, shot and edited by brent e. Bhaktivedanta swami, bhaktisiddhanta saraswati, george harrison, ravi shankar. Special film showing and interview with brent huffman. Watch the saving mes aynak official trailer wildmind. Saving mes aynak special film showing and interview with brent huffman. My film saving mes aynak is ready to screen worldwide, and i am mounting a global campaign through the film to raise awareness about the impending demolition, thus creating an international movement to put pressure on the mining company and the afghanistan government.
Nearly 90,000 people signed the petition to save the ancient city, and afghan presidents hamid karzai 20012014 and ashraf ghani 2014present viewed the film and pledged support. Minoan time site lines photographs, carlos guarita, falmouth art school. The pamphlet is a succinct resource for people who want to learn more about mes aynak and how they can personally get involved to help save the site. Saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races. Even today the fate of mes aynak still hangs in the balance. Saving mes aynak feature length film 60 min, brent huffman, northwestern university and kartemquin films, usa. Until the lion speaks working title, for concordia studio, with codirectors bing liu and joshua altman. Jun 11, 2015 the awardwinning film saving mes aynak follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold buddhist archeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition by. Timeline world history documentaries recommended for. The film recently won the silver plaque at the 2016 chicago international film festival television awards, distinguishing saving mes aynak s achievements in addressing the arts and humanities in documentary filmmaking. The remains of the buddhist monasteries of mes aynak. China to destroy ancient buddhist city to mine opper.
Sightations exhibition tag 2016 southampton university of. It focuses on afghan archaeologist qadir temori and his struggle to save mes aynak, a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan which faces demolition. Apr 27, 2015 saving mes aynak world premiered in november at the idfa festival and screened in the u. Jun 19, 2015 the fate of mes aynak is the theme of the documentary saving mes aynak, a powerful and compelling work from brent huffman, and kartemquin films. To learn more about saving mes aynak, visit this film will be available to stream until midnight on friday, february 28th, 2020. This is how we ensure that this irreplaceable ancient buddhist city can be. Zak is an emmy and pga awardwinning documentary filmmaker who has made films for over 15 years. Saving mes aynak is free to watch in afghanistan inside. The taliban spokespersons claimed that they were idols that needed. The awardwinning film saving mes aynak follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5000yearold buddhist. Feb 01, 2017 according to the film saving mes aynak, metallurgical group corp. Only 10 percent of mes aynak has been excavated, though, and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself. Is there still hope for china, afghanistans longstalled us. The filmmakers behind saving mes aynak have announced a global screening day to spread awareness about a 5,000yearold buddhist archaeological site in afghanistan on the brink of destruction.
The tools delve deeper into the issues and stories within the film such as the history of mes aynak, buddhisms history in afghanistan, the fight to preserve cultural heritage, the environmental impact of mining, and. Brent huffman on saving mes aynak and the geography of gandharan art. A view of the kafiriat tepe, the 2,000yearold buddhist monastery discovered in mes aynak. Mes aynak mine is said to be the second largest copper ore body in the world, with the deposit estimated to contain 5. It is a thorough and significant record of chinas terrifying reach across the world for the natural resources and sovereignty of underdeveloped countries. Saving mes aynak played a significant role in causing the mcc and the afghan government to delay demolition of the site that continues to this day.
The geography of gandharan art, 22nd23rd march 2018 final programme and abstracts now available. Saving mes aynak 2014 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Qadir temori and his fellow afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the chinese, the taliban and local politics to save. The film also won the special jury mention at the master of art film festival in bulgaria. The fight to save an ancient buddhist city in afghanistan. The story behind chinas longstalled mine in afghanistan. Saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition. Jul 19, 2016 saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent destruction. Saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan from. The extraordinary silk road archaeological site of mes aynak, 25 miles southeast of kabul is one of the largest and most important in afghanistan, and includes extensive remains of buddhist art and architecture from the first millennium. The documentary saving mes aynak premiered at the 2014 idfa film festival in amsterdam and in the usa at the 2015 full frame documentary film festival. Release dates 2 also known as aka 4 release dates netherlands 21 november 2014 idfa film festival amsterdam usa 1 july 2015. Another huge figure in the battle to save mes aynak is awardwinning american film maker brent huffman.
Huffman has been making a landmark documentary about the site and the fight to excavate it before time runs out. Saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent destruction. Saving mes aynak saving mes aynak official trailer facebook. Saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan from. In march of 2005, the taliban blew up the two buddhas of bamyam in afghanistan, cultural and spiritual sculptures from the 5th and 6th centuries. The alliance for the restoration of cultural heritage arch international, inc. Huffman named president of jury of arkhaios film festival. The documentary saving mes aynak premiered at the 2014 idfa film festival. My hope is the documentary can actually save mes aynak by rallying international support to stop the destruction of this cultural treasure. Huffmans film, saving mes aynak, the making of which wildmind helped sponsor. Oct 18, 2016 ever wonder how archaeologists excavate, preserve, protect, and interpret a site. Qadir temori and his fellow afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the chinese, the taliban and local politics to save their.
Saving mes aynak has the unenviable task of making the slow, detailed work of archaeology both visually interesting and narratively appealing. Its probably the last motion picture record of this historic archaeological site in afghanistan. Saving mes aynak won the grand prize at the festival back in 2015. In search of the lost buddhas with david adams bamiyan valley documentary timeline duration. Saving mes aynak is short, but it makes its points loud and clear through straightforward reporting. Download ministers assistant melissa maslanka speaks about the documentary film saving mes aynak which tells the story about heroic attempts to save a 5,000 year old archaeological site in afghanistan. Saving mes aynak documentary campaign launched on indiegogo. It is intended to be folded as a threepanel, frontandback brochure. Chicago story working title with producerdirector steve james. The focus of the film is a historic site in afghanistan thats about to get destroyed by a chinese mining operation.
In 1998, the book zen at war was published in the united states describing in detail how buddhist monks actively fought in these wars. The awardwinning film saving mes aynak follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold buddhist archeological site. Download and print out copies of this screening brochure to distribute at your community screening. Saving mes aynak 2014 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
In afghanistan, its chinas thirst for minerals as shown in this documentary. Saving mes aynak february 6 tricycle magazine, the largest buddhist publication in the us, just published director and professor brent e. Saturday, august 12, 2 4 pm saving mes aynak its a races against time to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition. Meanwhile saving mes aynak has played around the world in film festivals, schools, television, and online.
Qadir temori, an afghani archeologist with limited training but an enormous heart and ambition, represents one side and one face of the struggle, and an incredible amount of obstacles confront him. Afghan archaeologists and villagers fight to save the ancient buddhist city of mes aynak, one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of recent times, from destruction by a chinese copper mine. Saving mes aynak premiered at the international documentary film festival amsterdam last november and follows archaeologist qadir temori and his fight to save the mes aynak site. Saving mes aynak follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold buddhist archeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition. Evanston saving mes aynak, the documentary by a northwestern university filmmaker about a race to save the 5,000yearold buddhist archaeological site from destruction, has been released on dvd and digitally by itunes and amazon. The following resources were produced in order to expand the context of and add deepen the breadth of the conversation around saving mes aynak. Saving mes aynak on itunes, amazon, netflix coming soon. July 1, 2015 social media awareness effort on facebook and twitter on this day, we will unite in watching saving mes aynak, and announce to the world that we believe in saving mes aynak, and in protecting culture, history, and human rights. Mcc and jiangxi copper are in the initial stages of building an openpit copper mine 25 miles southeast of. Huffman fixertranslater najibullah sedeqe post production supervisor ryan gleeson coeditor matt lauterbach consulting editor jim klein edited by brent e. Mcc and jiangxi copper are in the initial stages of building an openpit copper mine 25 miles southeast of kabul. Heres why this filmmaker risked his life to film at this. In the beginning of the 20th century, japan waged a number of wars, which culminated in the second world war. Huffman is honored to be selected as the president of the arkhaios film festival jury for the archaeology and culture film festival this october.
Saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5,000yearold archaeological site in afghanistan. His definitive documentary, saving mes aynak, is in production and recently received a macarthur foundation grant. The documentary saving mes a ynak premiered at the 2014 idf a film festival. According to the film saving mes aynak, metallurgical group corp.
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