When British film-maker Phil Grabsky arrived in Afghanistan almost a decade ago, he didn’t know what to expect.
The Boy Mir is the fruit of extraordinary persistence from Grabsky and his team who succeeded against the odds to provide an unprecedented perspective into life in one of the world’s poorest countries.
David Cox caught up with Grabsky to talk about his experiences and what he hopes viewers will take away from the film
David Cox: What first inspired you to film in Afghanistan ?
Phil Grabsky: To some extent you’re always waiting to feel passionate about something, to feel interested about something In 2001, everyone was watching the Buddhas being destroyed in March and then of course all the events through to September and then in Afghanistan, all the changes that happened in November with the foreign aided, temporary eviction of the Taliban and I guess I...
The Boy Mir is the fruit of extraordinary persistence from Grabsky and his team who succeeded against the odds to provide an unprecedented perspective into life in one of the world’s poorest countries.
David Cox caught up with Grabsky to talk about his experiences and what he hopes viewers will take away from the film
David Cox: What first inspired you to film in Afghanistan ?
Phil Grabsky: To some extent you’re always waiting to feel passionate about something, to feel interested about something In 2001, everyone was watching the Buddhas being destroyed in March and then of course all the events through to September and then in Afghanistan, all the changes that happened in November with the foreign aided, temporary eviction of the Taliban and I guess I...
- 10/19/2011
- by Guest
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? The Boy Mir: Ten Years In Afghanistan Trailer Put this on my list of documentaries about the wars in the Middle East that I want to check out.
- 10/15/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
- Slash Film
Melancholia (15)
(Lars Von Trier, 2010, Den/Swe/Fra/Ger) Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård. 136 mins
Never have crippling depression and the end of the world looked so appealing. Personal and planetary orbits are fatalistically set on collision course in Von Trier's latest, as two sisters struggle with life, the universe and each other, but despite the grimness, its strange beauty stays with you.
The Debt (15)
(John Madden, 2010, Us) Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington. 113 mins
A trio of Israeli agents try to abduct a former Nazi, then deal with the fallout decades later in this structurally (over)ambitious spy epic.
Red State (18)
(Kevin Smith, 2011, Us) Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman. 88 mins
Smith takes aim at Christian fundamentalism in this cultish horror, which doesn't have the firepower it needs.
The Green Wave (Nc)
(Ali Samadi Ahadi, 2010, Ger) 80 mins
Documentary on Iran's 2009 democratic uprising, mixing reportage, animation and tweets and blogs.
(Lars Von Trier, 2010, Den/Swe/Fra/Ger) Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, Alexander Skarsgård. 136 mins
Never have crippling depression and the end of the world looked so appealing. Personal and planetary orbits are fatalistically set on collision course in Von Trier's latest, as two sisters struggle with life, the universe and each other, but despite the grimness, its strange beauty stays with you.
The Debt (15)
(John Madden, 2010, Us) Helen Mirren, Jessica Chastain, Sam Worthington. 113 mins
A trio of Israeli agents try to abduct a former Nazi, then deal with the fallout decades later in this structurally (over)ambitious spy epic.
Red State (18)
(Kevin Smith, 2011, Us) Michael Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman. 88 mins
Smith takes aim at Christian fundamentalism in this cultish horror, which doesn't have the firepower it needs.
The Green Wave (Nc)
(Ali Samadi Ahadi, 2010, Ger) 80 mins
Documentary on Iran's 2009 democratic uprising, mixing reportage, animation and tweets and blogs.
- 9/30/2011
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Two film-makers followed an Afghan boy and his family over 10 years. The result is a startling documentary full of hardship – but humour, too
It was while he was stopping for a cup of tea on the 24-hour drive from the central Afghan province of Bamiyan to Kabul that film-maker Phil Grabsky caught some unwanted local attention. "There was a whole bunch of guys standing around watching us. One of them looked at me and shouted something in my direction. I asked my translator what he'd said, but he wouldn't tell me. He just said, 'Right, we'd better leave now.' I kept pressing him to tell me. Turns out it was, 'If I had a knife, I'd slit the throat of that American right now.'"
Grabsky isn't American – he lives in Brighton – but he was an obvious outsider who, with his camera in tow, looked dubious enough to garner mistrust from bystanders.
It was while he was stopping for a cup of tea on the 24-hour drive from the central Afghan province of Bamiyan to Kabul that film-maker Phil Grabsky caught some unwanted local attention. "There was a whole bunch of guys standing around watching us. One of them looked at me and shouted something in my direction. I asked my translator what he'd said, but he wouldn't tell me. He just said, 'Right, we'd better leave now.' I kept pressing him to tell me. Turns out it was, 'If I had a knife, I'd slit the throat of that American right now.'"
Grabsky isn't American – he lives in Brighton – but he was an obvious outsider who, with his camera in tow, looked dubious enough to garner mistrust from bystanders.
- 9/15/2011
- by Huma Qureshi
- The Guardian - Film News
Sigrid Thornton in Michael Rymer's Face to Face Troubadours Wins Santa Barbara Film Festival Audiece Award Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema: Michael Rymer's Face to Face Best International Film Award: Nathan Collett's Togetherness Supreme Special Jury Mention: Alicia Vikander for Pure The Nueva Vision Award: Nostalgia for the Light, Patricio Guzmán Best East Meets West Cinema Award: Patisserie (Coin de rue) by Yoshihiro Fukagawa Best Eastern Bloc Award: If I Want To Whistle, I Whistle by Florin Serban Best Documentary Film Award: The Boy Mir: Ten Years in Afghanistan by Phil Grabsky Bruce Corwin Award for Best Live Action Short Film: West of the Moon Brent Bonacorso Bruce Corwin Award for Best Animation Short Film:The Lost Thing by Andrew Ruhemann and Shaun Tan The Fund for Santa Barbara Social Justice Award: When I Rise by Mat Hames and Nostalgia for the Light by Patricio Guzmán...
- 2/8/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” a documentary about the Los Angeles music scene from the late 1960s to the early ‘70s, was audience favorite when the 26th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival handed out its awards over the weekend at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
- 2/7/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Network
Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” a documentary about the Los Angeles music scene from the late 1960s to the early ‘70s, was audience favorite when the 26th Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival handed out its awards over the weekend at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
“This year in particular, I have been incredibly impressed by our film lineup. Each of the films possessed their own unique quality, creating one of the most diverse and interesting programs yet,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling in a statement.
The following is a list of this year’s winners.
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
“Face to Face” (Australia)
Michael Rymer, director
Winner received a camera package worth $60,000.
The Best International Film Award
“Togetherness Supreme” (Kenya)
Nathan Collett, director
Special Jury Mention
Alicia Vikander, actress, “Pure” (Sweden)
The Nueva Vision Award
“Nostalgia for the Light” (“Nostalgia de la Luc”) (U.S.)
Patricio Guzmán,...
- 2/7/2011
- by admin
- Moving Pictures Magazine
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced its 2011 prize winners earlier today.
The highly-coveted Audience Award went to Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” an engaging doc about the rise of singer-songwriters — most notably Carole King and James Taylor, who feature prominently in the film alongside other headliners of the period — in Los Angeles, generally, and at the Troubadour Club, specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (The film premiered at last month’s Sundance Film Festival and will air nationally on PBS on March 2 at 8pm Est.)
The other top honors were determined by a jury that included actor Billy Baldwin (“Gossip Girl”), writer/director Paul Brickman (“Risky Business”), director Andy Davis (“The Fugitive”), producer Frank Donner (“Deliver Us from Evil”), actor Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future”), and actor Anthony Zerbe (“The Matrix”), among others, and went to the following films…
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema (given...
The highly-coveted Audience Award went to Morgan Neville’s “Troubadours,” an engaging doc about the rise of singer-songwriters — most notably Carole King and James Taylor, who feature prominently in the film alongside other headliners of the period — in Los Angeles, generally, and at the Troubadour Club, specifically, in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (The film premiered at last month’s Sundance Film Festival and will air nationally on PBS on March 2 at 8pm Est.)
The other top honors were determined by a jury that included actor Billy Baldwin (“Gossip Girl”), writer/director Paul Brickman (“Risky Business”), director Andy Davis (“The Fugitive”), producer Frank Donner (“Deliver Us from Evil”), actor Christopher Lloyd (“Back to the Future”), and actor Anthony Zerbe (“The Matrix”), among others, and went to the following films…
The Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema (given...
- 2/7/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
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