Addicted in Afghanistan, Feature documentary, Katalyst Productions, 2009, 78 mins.
An intimate feature-length observational documentary that explores the heart-breaking reality behind the headlines as seen through the eyes of Jabar & Zahir, two 15 year old drug addicts living in Kabul.
The documentary is an intimate and uncompromising portrayal, filmed over a year, of the day to day struggles of a new generation of children addicted to heroin, trying to find their way in the new Afghanistan.
“Addicted” was selected for the Sheffield Doc Fest Meet Market & was awarded both development and post production funding from the Jan Vrijman Fund at IDFA.
The film has been selected at over 30 international film festivals including IDFA & Sheffield Doc/Fest 2009.
It has won 5 international film festival awards & has been sold & broadcast on BBC Persia, DR2 TV Denmark, Maori TV New Zealand, CBC Documentary Channel Canada, Telewijza Poland, amongst others.
For more information about Addicted please go to the Addicted in Afghanistan Site, join the Facebook page, and follow the film on Twitter @AddictedAfghan.
Credits: Languages - Farsi, Dari, Pashto, Persian Subtitles: English. Directed by Jawed Taiman, Produced by Sharron Ward, Music by Elias Shahna & Deen Mohammed Ghamkhmer, Online Editor Nigel Taylor, Edited by Jason Brooks & Sharron Ward. A FilmFXZone/Katalyst Production, 2009.
Awards for Addicted in Afghanistan: Shortlisted for Grierson Best Newcomer Award 2010, Awarded Best Director of Documentary Award - Asian First Film Festival, Best European Documentary Feature Award - European Independent Film Festival, Aloha Accolade Award for Excellence in Filmmaking - Honolulu International Film Festival, Golden Ace Award for Excellence in Filmmaking - Las Vegas International Film Festival, Nominated Best Documentary Film - Milan International Film Festival, Golden Palm Award - Mexico International Film Festival.
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Riveting.
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A powerful & emotional film.
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A heartbreaking glimpse into the daily life of Afghani children who are addicted to drugs.
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Thank god for this kind of insightful, courageous filmmaking. This is a story that doesn’t get on the news every night. But it bloody well should.
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This is an intimate, sometimes unbearably, close observation of a ‘lost generation’ searching for their way out of the quagmire of addiction.
The film was consistently in the Top 10 most viewed documentaries at it's European premiere at IDFA in 2009 and has enjoyed a swathe of publicity from interviews with Jawed Taiman & Sharron Ward on Amsterdam Radio, interviews in The Guardian, and The Producer magazine and various other festival publications. Sharron Ward was interviewed by Reykjavík International Film Festival, and has toured the world with the film to Mexico, Greece, Iceland, Spain, Germany, Amsterdam, doing audience Q & As. The film screened at many film festivals across the United States and was also invited to screen at New York's prestigious Museum of Modern Art in 2010. For a full list of screenings & awards - please see the dedicated Addicted Site.
The film has had over 1.4 million views on our other YouTube channel. Sharron Ward & Jawed Taiman were interviewed by BBC World Service about the film. You can listen to the interview below.
Addicted in Afghanistan was made with the kind support of the IDFA Jan Vrijman Fund.
Addicted in Afghanistan has screened on the following international channels:
