The Garden at the End of the World is a 50 minute documentary on the effects of 25 years of war on the women and children of Afghanistan. Featuring the work of Aust/Afghan NGO Mahboba's Promise and local permaculturist Rosemary Morrow, helping the country in its struggle to rebuild. (See detailed synopsis below.)
Long awaited and much anticipated, The Garden at the End of the World will have it's world premier screening at The Edge Cinema, Katoomba, on Thursday, 20 August 2009, at 6.45pm. Both Rosemary and Mahboba Rawi will be attending the screening and updating us on what's happening there now, what's next, and how you can help. With all profits going to Mahboba's Promise tickets are $20 each.
Tickets are only available online at http://www.lysisfilms.com
Payments can be made online by credit card through PayPal.
Multiple tickets available in one transaction.
There is a limit of 350 tickets so reserve your seats asap.
Please note; the film is not suitable for children.
The Garden at the End of the World - Synopsis:
After eight years of much hyped reconstruction and international aid efforts, and the homecoming of millions of refugees, Afghanistan is still experiencing widespread hunger, homelessness and lawlessness. In this fifty minute documentary we travel through this ancient and troubled land with Rosemary Morrow, an Australian aid worker who brings her considerable wisdom and expertise to the task of reconstruction.
By trade Rosemary is a horticulturist who for many years has been an expert in the field of Permaculture, an agricultural technique that enables individuals and communities to feed themselves using environmentally sustainable methods. She's spent the last thirty years working in Africa, Asia and Central Europe, pioneering the introduction of this technique to shattered communities struggling to rebuild their lives after the devastation of war.
Rosemary has always worked outside the mainstream in an unassuming, minimalist style. This has given her a freedom and a unique perspective that enables her to effect change in a way that is somewhat different from the large, state sponsored aid agencies. She doesn't arrive with a convoy of trucks laden with flour, toothpaste and politics; she's more likely to pull up in a battered taxi with nothing but a few dollars and her small suitcase. She's a streetwise Mary Poppins of global war zones.
In the course of her many travels through the rubble of human conflict, Rosemary has become a seasoned observer of fractured communities and understands more than most the essential elements they need in order to rebuild and function. She invariably arrives at ground zero knowing that the degree of community fragmentation is such that before she can even begin to introduce Permaculture, she has to attend to its broken social structure. Tending and cultivating the re-growth of a community is vital for any chance of developing a peaceful, sustainable way of life. Rosemary calls this preliminary work, Social Permaculture.
In this documentary we are invited into the hearts and lives of the people of Afghanistan. We go with Rosemary into a newly established orphanage and spend time with the children now living there. As their stories unfold we explore the places they have come from: the dusty, rubble-strewn streets of Kabul and the remote battle weary villages high in the rugged mountains. We also meet war widows struggling in a patriarchal society to feed and shelter their children. We hear the stories of the street kids who are burdened with the responsibility for feeding their families. In the chilling finale we go into the basement of a derelict building, discovering graphic evidence of Afghanistan's dark and terrible past. With so much suffering perpetuated for so long all the Afghan nation clings to now, is hope. Fed by hope, both Rosemary Morrow's work and that of Mahboba's Promise, is to help the Afghani people plant the seeds of peace in the garden at the end of the world.
Cheers
Jocelyn
Lemon Zest
0414 572991
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