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Afghan Film To Digitalize Its Archive

Officials from the Afghan Film Directorate at the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) on Monday said that it is planning to digitalize its film archive which holds nearly 36,000 hours of film shot over the past century. 
 
The Afghan Film Directorate, which is the only government film making body, has footage of politics, society, and culture from various regions around the world. 
 
The Afghan Film Directorate has faced major ups and downs during its history including the plundering of its assets during the various wars. 
 
There are dozens of incomplete films by Afghan artists which were never completed due to wars in the country. 
 
Recently President Ashraf Ghani’s daughter Maryam, who is a filmmaker and social activist, said she wants to make a documentary about these films. 
 
“The equipment which we have today, we see that it was hidden, along with rolls of film in roofs and every other place possible, by the grace of Allah, the Taliban failed to harm our archive,” said Abdul Azim Karimi, head of the Afghan Film Archive. 
 
“We have nearly 6,000 hours of Afghan films in our archive and more than 30,000 hours of international films,” said Mohammad Ibrahim Arifi Kaihan, chairman of the Afghan Film Directorate. 
 
“If our archive, which is a treasure, is shown to an audience, the people would be able to get very interesting things from it,” said Habibullah, an employee of the Afghan Film Directorate. 
 
Among the films in the archive are some from before the first World War including one called 'Love and Friendship' which was jointly produced by Indian and Afghan artists. 

Afghan Film To Digitalize Its Archive

Over 30,000 hours worth of footage has been saved, some of which dates back to before World War II. 

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Officials from the Afghan Film Directorate at the Ministry of Information and Culture (MoIC) on Monday said that it is planning to digitalize its film archive which holds nearly 36,000 hours of film shot over the past century. 
 
The Afghan Film Directorate, which is the only government film making body, has footage of politics, society, and culture from various regions around the world. 
 
The Afghan Film Directorate has faced major ups and downs during its history including the plundering of its assets during the various wars. 
 
There are dozens of incomplete films by Afghan artists which were never completed due to wars in the country. 
 
Recently President Ashraf Ghani’s daughter Maryam, who is a filmmaker and social activist, said she wants to make a documentary about these films. 
 
“The equipment which we have today, we see that it was hidden, along with rolls of film in roofs and every other place possible, by the grace of Allah, the Taliban failed to harm our archive,” said Abdul Azim Karimi, head of the Afghan Film Archive. 
 
“We have nearly 6,000 hours of Afghan films in our archive and more than 30,000 hours of international films,” said Mohammad Ibrahim Arifi Kaihan, chairman of the Afghan Film Directorate. 
 
“If our archive, which is a treasure, is shown to an audience, the people would be able to get very interesting things from it,” said Habibullah, an employee of the Afghan Film Directorate. 
 
Among the films in the archive are some from before the first World War including one called 'Love and Friendship' which was jointly produced by Indian and Afghan artists. 

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