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| Poster from White Silk Road |
The guys, Clint Allan, Nick Gregory and Mitch Allan, must be very brave and a little crazy. They must also have paid a huge sum for travel insurance.
From the documentary's blurb:
They
travelled to the town of Bamyan, in central Afghanistan, to explore the
untouched peaks of the mighty Hindu Kush. Along the way they dodged
riots, landmines, bombs and kidnappers to discover a side of the country
usually ignored by the western media.
The spectacular natural beauty of Bamyan has endured through centuries
of violence, and a culture of hospitality and optimism in the
communities has prevailed through the previous decades of conflict. The
snow-capped peaks of the Hindu Kush tower above the small town. All
winter, they are covered in deep, dry powder. Most of them had never
been ridden. With only their two legs to get them up the mountain, the
snowboarders set about changing that.
In the foothills of the mountains, the riders met a small group of
locals who had recently taken to the slopes with gumboots and wooden
skis: forgetting the tribulations of the past and fostering a new
tourist industry that could secure a brighter future. The boarders introduced them to snowboarding and helped them learn the
fundamentals of a new sport and a new life.
It opened in Australia in July and will be playing at festivals in North America and Europe later in the year. The trailer below [2 mins] is extraordinary. Just look at those mountains. The soundtrack is put together by Fake Four Inc and Circle Into Square.
Related posts:
Uzbekistan as Film Location
Cricket in Afghanistan and Tajikistan
Afghan Art - Tradition and Continuity at the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
Skateistan - Empowering Afghan Youth Through Skateboarding
White Silk Road: Snowboarding Afghanistan - Trailer from Lightbox Pictures on Vimeo.
