The Boy Who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan

A film by Phil Grabsky

Effervescent eight-year-old Mir lives in the ruins of the Buddhas which were so ruthlessly destroyed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The fact that he lives on bread and water when the film starts, and owns not a book or a toy, does not dim his fun-loving inquisitive spirit. Filmed over the course of a year against the dramatic backdrop of Bamiyan, the filmmaker captures the hardship of life for the refugees in this war- torn land. Acclaimed at international festivals, audiences have responded to the charm of this child, a spark of hope in a dark part of the world.

95 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Classroom Video rental $75.

HotDocs, 2004
Full Frame Documentary Festival, 2004
Grand Jury Prize, Washington International Film Festival, 2004
International Documentary Festival, Amsterdam, 2004
Special Award, Santa Barbara Film Festival, 2004
Sydney Film Festival, 2004
and many others

"Once the foremost tourist destination in Afghanistan, the Buddhas of Bamiyan were two of the world’s largest stone statues; in March 2001, the Taliban destroyed these statues as part of an effort to rid the country of pre-Islamic idolatrous symbols. The repression and economic destruction brought to the citizens of Bamiyan is revealed through Mir, an eight-year-old boy and his family. Refugees from Dara-e-Soof, Mir’s family hoped to take advantage of the tourist industry in Bamiyan. Instead they were forced to live in the caves alongside the mountain where the Buddha statues once stood... Throughout the film, even as he is forced to live in the dismal conditions of an Afghan refugee, Mir always shows the youthful exuberance of a child. Recommended" Michael A. LaMagna, Reference Librarian, Cabrini College, Radnor, PA for EMRO

"Outstanding" Sunday Times (London)

"Astonishingly intimate... as vivid a portrait of present-day Afghanistan as you will ever see." Santa Barbara International Film Festival