The Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 began an unprecedented mass

exodus of refugees out of Afghanistan. As a by-product of the Cold War,

Afghan refugees settled in large numbers in the United States. However,

prior to 9/11, their presence as an ethnic group within America was

relatively unknown and they remained on the outskirts of American

society. For the first time in history, Afghan American filmmakers will

be brought together for a day-long festival to feature their works and

discuss themes of war, displacement, healing and

self-creation. Geography, for a refugee community, plays a large role in

their collective imagination. These films focus on voyages for refuge and

then return voyages to home, in both a literal and theoretical

sense. These films deal with how the distances between themselves and

their families, as well as the distances between themselves and the

American communities, can be bridged through art.

TRACING THE MAP OF OUR VEINS will screen the works of Afghan American

filmmakers and explore the themes of the films through a Q&A

session. This event hopes to create a deeper understanding amongst many

different worlds, including the U.S., Afghanistan, and Afghan-America.

This film festival is made possible through the generous support of the

Women's Studies Program and the Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Program at Hunter College.

* * *

Film Schedule:

Introductions:

Robert Ji-Song Ku, Acting Director, Asian American Studies Program

Baktash Zaher, President, Afghan American Peace Corp

Zohra Saed, Faculty, Asian American Studies Program

Part I. "Fragmented Voices: Afghan Women's Narratives of Displacement"

Veda Zaher Khadem

Bleak Existence (18 min.) 2000

Lida Abdullah

"My City Has No Monuments" (10 min.) 2001

Sedika Mojadidi

Kabul, Kabul (46 min.) 2000

Maliha Zulfacar