"Kabul, City in the Wind"

2018 , 88 min

Director: Aboozar Amini Production: Jia Zhao / Silk Road Film Salon Co-production: NHK Enterprises, Color of May, Kino Kabul Cinematography: Aboozar Amini Editing: Barbara Hin, Srdjan Fink

A city is an orchestration of its inhabitants. The film portraits the city Kabul through daily details of two kids and a bus driver, set against the background of a city destroyed by politic and religious powers.

Fearless and always on the lookout for passengers, Abas steers his rickety bus through the chaos of Kabul, still regularly the target of terrorist attacks. Elsewhere in the grim city, which appears to be permanently wrapped in a cloud of dust, the young teenager Afshin and his little brother Benjamin accompany their father, a former soldier, to a memorial with portraits of bomb victims. When their dad leaves for Iran for reasons of personal safety, Afshin suddenly becomes head of the household.

In his first full-length documentary, Aboozar Amini loosely follows the stories of the bus driver and the two brothers. At home with his children, Abas rejoices, but happiness is scarce. His bus breaks down and creditors are chasing him for money. To forget his troubles, he sings a song and smokes hash. Afshin and Benjamin do their best not to disappoint their dad and take their chores around the house very seriously. Among these impressions of life in Kabul, Amini has his protagonists talk to the camera directly about their worries and dreams—the Afghan nightmare is never far away.