Screening – Afghanistan Online

BBC Persian TV journalist Najieh Ghulami travelled through Afghanistan to discover a civil society eager to embrace new technologies and communicate with the rest of the world. In Kabul, Herat, Bagrami and Bamiyan she meets Afghan internet entrepreneurs, university students, web activists, bloggers, artists, soldiers and journalists all of whom are making the most of the possibilities offered by the world wide web.

The film is an eye-opening colourful and vibrant tour of an Afghan reality away from the standard news bulletins and embedded reports. Najieh Ghulami shows us a land of extreme contrasts, where the hope offered by the internet age is tempered by the harsh realities of a country battered by decades of fighting.

Throughout her journey, the stories of ordinary Afghan women and men who have taken to the internet provides a source of real inspiration and gives us rare access to an Afghanistan desperate to grow up and take its place in the world.

Produced and Directed by Darius Bazargan
A BBC Persian Production
Duration: 45 minutes
Release: 2009