About the film
British film-maker Phil Grabsky travelled to central Afghanistan a few months after the fall of the Taliban. His aim was to produce a cinema film that would explore the lives of ordinary Afghans. One young boy caught the film-maker's eye. Mir is ever-optimistic; a smile always on his face. He is cheeky, inquisitive and full of humour. And yet, when the film starts he is living on bread and water, and owns nothing — not one toy or book.
Following the first film, the international hit The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, this new major film The Boy Mir covers not just one year but ten. It tracks the irrepressible and lovable Mir from a naïve 8-year-old to a fully grown adult. Over this decade, it not only is a journey that follows Mir as he journeys into early adulthood in one of the toughest places on earth but it a film that is unmatched in mirroring and revealing the vitally important story of modern Afghanistan.
The film begins in 2002 – shortly after the fall of the Taliban – when Phil Grabsky first filmed Mir who, at that time, was living in a cave alongside the recently destroyed huge stone Buddhas of Bamiyan. Within a year, Mir and his family had been able to return to their home in a small very remote village in the deserts of the north. The family were happy to be home. Mir’s brother says, “In Bamiyan we were refugees; here we walk free”. Their one room is, however, still not much bigger than the cave in Bamiyan. And, that cramped space, the day-to-day life of the family members and their characters are revealed to us: Mir’s father Abdul – charming but caustic with it. Mir’s mother Fatima – angry with the world. Mir’s brother Khoshdel – canny yet depressed. Mir’s sister Gulafrooz – hidden behind closed doors. Mir runs between them all – full of life, laughter and mischief.
As the film progresses, Mir changes. Like any boy growing up, he becomes more aware of the world and thus a little less happy-go-lucky. He begins by working hard at the village school (recently re-constructed with aid money) and is intent on becoming a teacher. Outside of school, he learns to ride a horse and is expected to help with the work of the family which includes growing wheat in the mountains.
He and his father talk endlessly about how well he should be doing at school and how much time he should spend working. As the only son of an ailing father, it becomes clear that there is increasing call for the young boy to help support what is an extremely poor family. As the film progresses, Mir turns his attention, however, from horses and donkeys and helping the family to bikes, motorbikes and having fun. His ambition to one day be a teacher or indeed president of Afghanistan changes; now he simply hopes not be killed in the fighting.
This is a film that reveals in a uniquely moving and intimate fashion what has been happening in Afghanistan over the past decade since the November 2001 fall of the Taliban. What difference has America’s and other allies’ input had on this country? Is there still a chance that Mir will end up as a soldier or opium farmer and, if so, can this cycle ever really be changed? The US alone spends $60bn a year keeping soldiers there – but to what effect? Are they losing the hearts & minds battle or are they protecting the young boys – and girls – who attend Mir’s bare and tiny school?
The Boy Mir reveals this day-to-day life of Mir and his family from a very close-up perspective. The narrative is driven by Mir’s journey into his early teens, when he will be expected to put his childish ways behind him and begin the difficult process of becoming a man. This is hard enough for any child, but Mir has to face this challenge in modern Afghanistan. In sum, this is a unique portrayal of life, full of humour, full of poignancy, in today’s Afghanistan.
About the filmmaker
Phil Grabsky is an award-winning documentary film-maker. With a film career spanning 25 years, Phil and his companies Seventh Art Productions and PhilGrabskyFilms.com make films for cinema, television and DVD.
Phil’s cinema films include Muhammad Ali – Through the Eyes of the World, The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan, In Search of Mozart, Escape from Luanda, In Search of Beethoven and now,
The Boy Mir – Ten Years in Afghanistan. These films have played in festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards for Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Cinematography, Best Screenwriting, Best Editing, Best Music.
In cinemas, Phil’s films have been a great success: in Australia, for example, both In Search of Mozart and In Search of Beethoven have entered the all-time top grossing documentaries. Among Phil’s many other films are one-offs for BBC strands ‘Timewatch’ and ‘Reputations’ as well as major series such as Channel 4‘s ‘Spain – in the Shadow of the Sun’ and ‘The Great Commanders’, BBC’s ‘I Caesar’ and Five & Sky Arts’s ‘Tim Marlow’ arts strand. Phil has also made six award-winning history films with Monty Python’s Terry Jones. Working with co-director David Bickerstaff, he has also completed the Oscar-longlisted short documentary Heavy Water: a Journey to Chernobyl, which uses Mario Petrucci’s poetry to explore the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Two more co-directed films with David Bickerstaff are Making War Horse - a film following the production of the smash theatre hit War Horse and The Making of Swallows and Amazons – the Bristol Old Vic Sets Sail. Both films featured on Channel 4. Currently in production are In Search of Haydn and Piano Notes – An Utterly Partial History of the Piano with Ronald Brautigam. Phil and Ben Harding also recently made the world’s first 3d visual arts film: Tim Marlow on British Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Phil has also written four history books, including the best-seller The Great Commanders, and is regularly involved as a judge for the Emmys, Bafta, Grierson and One World awards. He has been himself awarded numerous personal awards including an RTS for ‘Services to Television’ and a Voice of the Listener and Viewer Award for ‘Services to Education’.
For more information on Phil’s other projects please visit www.seventh-art.com
