Mina Walking

Mina Walking is a 2015 drama film written and directed by Yosef Baraki. It was screened in the Generation 14plus section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where it competed for the Crystal Bear.[1]

Mina Walking
Directed byYosef Baraki
Produced byAndrew Korogyi
Asef Baraki
Written byYosef Baraki
StarringFarzana Nawabi
Music byVaheed Kaacemy
CinematographyYosef Baraki
Edited byYosef Baraki
Andrew Korogyi
Production
company
Baraki Film
Release date
  • 12 February 2015 (2015-02-12) (Berlin)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryCanada
Afghanistan
LanguageDari

The film follows a 12-year-old Afghan street seller named Mina as she tries to balance her education with her responsibly as the main breadwinner of the family.

Cast
  • Farzana Nawabi as Mina
  • Qadir Aryae as Omar
  • Marina Golbahari as Teacher
  • Safi Fanaie as Samir
  • Massoud Fanaie as Bashir
  • Hashmatullah Fanaie as Grandfather

Production

Yosef Baraki has stated that he was inspired to write the film after meeting with a group of child street sellers in Kabul. "What I noticed and [what] eventually led to writing this movie was the dynamic between them. In a country like Afghanistan it was interesting to see that the girls were making more money than the boys and were able to outsmart them. These children spent such a long time on the streets every day and didn’t go to school, either because they were orphaned or because war has affected their parents in a way that the children had to support the family."[2]

The film was shot on location in Kabul, Afghanistan in 19 days with a crew of 5-6 people. Only a few professional actors appear in the film. Baraki developed the character of Mina by placing Farzana Nawabi in real life situations and only feeding her parts of the script everyday. To capture real-life Kabul, the crew needed to shoot unnoticed. "Sometimes I would climb onto the roofs of buildings and shoot down with a long lens to capture Mina at the market without being seen. If there were too many people on the street, we would reduce the number of our crew if we were too noticeable. We were trying to blend in because we had to move forward, due to our tight budget and our short schedule. We could not afford to being told we can’t film somewhere, so we had to improvise."[3]

Awards and nominations

4th Canadian Screen Awards (2016)

Berlin International Film Festival (2015)

  • Nominated "Crystal Bear"[5]
  • Nominated "Best First Feature" Award [6]
  • Nominated "Amnesty Film Prize"[7]

Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2015)

  • Nominated "Best Youth Feature"

International Film Festival of India (2015)

  • Nominated "UNESCO Fellini Medal"

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival (2015)

  • Winner "Lindalee Tracey Award" [8]

Zlín Film Festival (2015)

  • Winner "Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Special Mention" [9]
  • Winner "The Milos Macourek Award"
  • Nominated "Golden Slipper"

SAARC Film Festival (2015)

  • Winner "Best Actress Award"

Der Neue Heimatfilm Festival (2015)

  • Winner "Best Film Award"

International Film Festival TOFIFEST (2015)

  • Winner "Audience Award"

Mumbai Film Festival (2015)

  • Winner "Best Actress Award"

Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (2015)

  • Winner "Best Feature Film Award"
  • Winner "Audience Award"

All Lights India International Film Festival (2015)

  • Winner "NETPAC Award For The Best Asian Cinema"

Festival Cinema Africano, Asia and Latin America (2016)

  • Winner "SIGNIS Jury Prize"

References
  1. https://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/alle/Alle-Detail_26456.html Berlinale. January 14, 2015.
  2. http://nextprojection.com/2015/02/16/berlin-interview-mina-walkings-yosef-baraki/ Next Projection. Berlin: Interview with Mina Walking’s Yosef Baraki by Corina Rottger. February 16, 2015
  3. http://nextprojection.com/2015/02/16/berlin-interview-mina-walkings-yosef-baraki/ Next Projection. Berlin: Interview with Mina Walking’s Yosef Baraki by Corina Rottger. February 16, 2015
  4. "Mina Walking Honoured with Inaugural Discovery Award". Cision, January 19, 2016.
  5. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4411456/awards?ref_=tt_awd Internet Movie Database.
  6. https://www.berlinale.de/en/das_festival/preise_und_juries/best_first_feature_award/index.html Berlinale. February 2015.
  7. http://www.european-news-agency.de/kunst_kultur_und_musik/16_berlinale_filme_fuer_amnesty_filmpreis_2015_nominiert-60555/ in German. February 6, 2015.
  8. http://www.hotdocs.ca/i/lindalee-tracey-award.
  9. http://www.zlinfest.cz/en/26009n-55th-zlin-film-festival-winning-films.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.