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In The Land of the Enlightened, armed bands of children in the high plains of northeastern Afghanistan survive on scavenging and stealing.
In The Land of the Enlightened, armed bands of children in the high plains of northeastern Afghanistan survive on scavenging and stealing. Hypnotic, playful and chillingly austere, the hybrid documentary blends romance and raw realism.
Afghanistan is as majestic as it is dangerous in Pieter-Jan De Pue's feature length debut, a 16mm evocation of constant war in those vast empty spaces. Yet films about Central Asian conflict - even with smiling, enterprising kids - have been a hard sell in recent years. De Pue also faces competition from Snow Monkey, George Gittoes's tragi-comic 2015 documentary about war-damaged child gangs in Jalalabad who are recruited for low-budget films.
After what should be a solid festival run and some exposure in art houses, The Land of the Enlightened is likely to be seen on television - an inadequate format for its...