The Land of the Enlightened

Original Title|The Land of the Enlightened

87' | 2016 (Completed)

All images & Videos

(6 images)

Director	Pieter-Jan De Pue
Writer	Pieter-Jan De Pue
Producer	Bart Van Langendonck

Full credits

A group of Kuchi children wage their own mini-wars in the daily madness of life in Afghanistan.

synopsis

In this seamless blend of fictional and documentary form, we experience a stunning cinematic journey into the beauty of war-tormented Afghanistan. Shot over seven years on evocative 16mm footage, first-time director Pieter-Jan De Pue paints a whimsical yet haunting look at the condition of Afghanistan left for the next generation. As American soldiers prepare to leave, we follow De Pue deep into this hidden land where young boys form wild gangs to control trade routes, sell explosives from mines left over from war, and climb rusting tanks as playgrounds‚Äîmaking the new rules of war based on the harsh landscape left to them.De Pue's transportative and wonderfully crafted film confronts the visceral beauty and roughness of survival, serving as a testament to the spirited innovation of childhood and the extreme resilience of a people and country.
Un groupe d’enfants kuchis déterre d’anciennes mines soviétiques autour de l’aéroport militaire américain de Bagram, en Afghanistan. Ils vendent les explosifs aux enfants travaillant dans les mines de lapis lazuli. Pendant ce temps, Gholam Nasir et son gang d’enfants contrôlent la région montagneuse où les caravanes de contrebande passent chargées de pierres précieuses pour rejoindre le Tadjikistan et le Pakistan.
Een groep Afghaanse kinderen van de Kuchi-stam graaft oude Sojvetmijnen op en verkoopt de explosieven aan kinderen die lapis lazuli delven in een mijn. Als ze niet hardop dromen over de dag waarop het Amerikaanse leger zich eindelijk uit hun land zal terugtrekken, houdt een andere kinderbende de karavanen die de blauwe edelstenen door het dorre Pamirgebergte smokkelen, nauwlettend in de gaten.

Credits

Director
Pieter-Jan De Pue
Writer
Pieter-Jan De Pue
Producer
Bart Van Langendonck
Editing
Stijn Deconinck, David Dusa
Photography
Pieter-Jan De Pue
Music
Denis Clohessy

Format

Creation details

Type
Film
Category
Doc
Genre
Year of production

2016
Production status
Completed
Original title
The Land of the Enlightened
Original language
English, Russian, Farsi, Pashtu, Uzbek, Waghi, Khyrgyz

Technical specs

Running time
87'
Aspect ratio
1.85:1
Colour
Colour

Contact & sales

Contact

Savage Film

Fabriekstraat 43
1930 Zaventem
België

T +32 (0)2 711 42 91
info@savagefilm.be

www.savagefilm.be

Details
Sales

Films Boutique

Köpenicker Str. 184
10997 Berlijn
Duitsland

T +49 30 69 53 78 50
contact@filmsboutique.com
Distribution
- the Netherlands: Periscoop Film (theatrical)
- Ireland: Wildcard Distribution (theat

Festivals & awards

Festivals

2016: World Cinema Documentary Competition - Sundance Film Festival (US); IFFR/International Film Festival Rotterdam (NL); Hong Kong International Film Festival (HK); Ambulante (MX); Grand Angle - Visions du Réel (CH); Documenta International Film Festival (ES); World Showcase - Hot Docs Internatio

Awards

2016: World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography - Sundance Film Festival (US), Special Jury Award - Documenta Madrid (ES), Audience Award + Professional Achievement Award - Tarkovsky Film Festival "Zerkalo" (RU); Artistic Vision Award - DocAviv (IL); Audience Award - Anonimul Fi

Partners

Co-production partners

Fastnet Films (IR), Gebrueder Beetz Produktion (DE), Submarine (NL), ZDF-Arte (DE), VRT-Canvas (BE), IKON (NL), Scio Productions (BE);_x000D_ In association with: Arte, Eyeworks, Telenet, Prime, Sciapode

Supported by

the Flanders Audiovisual Fund (VAF), the Belgian Tax Shelter for Film Financing, NFF, CCA de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles et de VOO, Bord Scannán na hÉireann – the Irish Film Board, Media Dev. Program of the E.U., Belgian Development Cooperation - DGD