Leaving the three decades of war and destruction behind, Afghans are making use of modern technology and media to rebuild the country and raise new generations with a brighter vision for the future. ‘Buz-e-Chini [1]‘ (Goat) is the country's first ever 3D computer-animated short film in Hazaragi [2], a dialect of Farsi spoken by the Hazara people [3] in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The animated movie is based on a folk tale about a goat and its three kids being cheated by a cunning wolf. It is set in Bamyan, a province in central Afghanistan, against the backdrop of the sixth-century monumental statues of standing buddhas [4] that the Taliban destroyed in 2001.
‘Buz-e-Chini’ was directed by Abbas Ali, a Hazara graphic designer who had been born in Afghanistan but left the country after the Taliban took over. Abbas Ali found refuge in Pakistan where he studied animation and began producing the movie. After the Taliban was toppled in Afghanistan, he returned to the country and finished the production of ‘Buz-e-Chini’.
Explaining his interest in animated films, Abbas Ali says [5][fa]:
از زمانی که کودک بودم عشق عجیبی به فلم های کارتونی داشتم که از تلویزیون پخش می شد. بسیار وقت ها از مکتب می گریختم تا برنامه کارتونی دلخواهم را در تلویزیون تماشا کنم و گاهی به خاطر این کار لت هم می خوردم. این علاقه باعث شد که از بسیار خردسالی به طراحی و نقاشی شروع کنم و در نهایت به مدرسه هنر راه بیابم
[6]'Buz-e-Chini': Official movie poster
In a recent interview [7] with NATOchannel.tv, the film's director said ‘Buz-e-Chini’ was produced to get through the ‘message of peace’ and prevent the Taliban from ‘erasing the Afghan culture’.
‘Buz-e-Chini’ was initially distributed illegally on DVDs and video cassettes. One of the first legal showings of the film was organized in a cave in Bamyan.
[8]Children from Bamyan watch 'Buz-e-Chini' on a screen mounted in a cave. Photo by Tahira Bakhshi (Republic of Silence), used with permission.
Ali Karimi writes [5] [fa] in The Republic of Silence [9]:
اهمیت این فلم در اینجاست که نشان می دهد هنرمندان افغان به مرحله یی رسیده اند که می توانند کودکان کشور را با قصه های افغانی سرگرم کنند. بدون شک، پس از سال ها تماشای «تام و جری» آمریکایی، دیدن «بز چینی» بامیانی برای هر طفل افغان تجربه ی لذت بخشی است که هیچ گاه فراموش نخواهند کرد.
This movie, ‘Buz-e-Chini,’ shows that Afghan artists are now able to entertain children with Afghan cartoons. Without doubt, after watching American-made ‘Tom and Jerry’ for years, the Bamiyan-made ‘Buz-e-Chini’ will be a fun experience for Afghan children, an experience they will never forget.
Mohammad Amin Wahidi a blogger and Founder of ‘Deedenow Cinema Production Afghanistan’ writes [10]:
Although since 2004 there are animators who make short animations in Afghanistan, however [sic] the quality and the graphic style of “Buz e Chini” short animation is compared to the products of Pixar…
Alessandro Pavone, a video journalist based in Afghanistan, comments [11] on the movie on his Twitter:
Is it the new
#Pixar's movie? No, it's the first Afghan 3D animation movie! “#Buz-e-Chini”
Commenting on ‘Buz-e-Chini’ video uploaded on YouTube, Eftakharchangezi [12] says [13]:
Mind Blowing Graphics – It is as professionally done as any Hollywood 3D movie. [T]hanks for such professionally accomplishment. Desperate to look forward for more efforts like this…