Soundtracks from movies all over the world. Eart and Ashes (Afghanistan, France 2003).
The story reminds one a bit of Bab Aziz , which we have broadcast once before in Let’s Movie. ‘Earth and Ashes’ is also about a grandfather who, in this case with his grandson, goes on a journey through the beautiful but desolate wasteland. The difference between this and Bab Aziz is that this film is much more melancholy and more realistic. The journey is tough and dangerous, because the landscape is littered with landmines. Dastaguir (the grandfather) is looking for his son, to whom he has to bring the tragic news of the rest of their family dying during a bombing on their village. Together with his five-year-old grandson Yassin, he travels to the coal mine of Karkar where his son is working. Waiting for appropriate transportation, Dastaguir wonders if he should tell his son the complete truth and what his grandson’s future will be like. The bombing has turned the boy deaf, but he is convinced that it is his grandfather who lost his voice instead.
This film’s soundtrack is composed by Francesco Russo and Khaled Arman. Besides the use of atmospheric synthesizer sounds, traditional instruments from Afghanistan were also involved, such as the rubab and the tambour drum.
Agenda
On Wednesday 31 October, the second edition of the Leids Film Festival begins. Productions can be seen on different locations in the Dutch city of Leiden, including big previews and new movies from countries like Russia and Japan. Another part of the festival is a competition for young movie makers. During the festival, movies will be shown, and expositions, discussions and lectures will be organized, all to present the medium of film on as large a scale as possible. One of the movies on the main programming schedule is called ‘Tuya’s Marriage’, directed by Quan An Wang. This film won the Golden Bear in Berlin in 2007. In Let’s Movie, music from Mongolia.
For more information, visit the festival’s website:
www.leidsfilmfestival.nl
