Sunday, 10/21, 7:30pm (Session XII)

Directors/Producers: Jamie Doran, Najibullah Quraishi 

Description: 

From the same team that made the multi-award-winning Dancing Boys of Afghanistan comes a new film exposing the dreadful abuse of young Afghan girls by drugs traffickers closely allied to the Taliban. Reporter Najibullah Quraishi journeys deep into the Afghan countryside to reveal the deadly bargain that local farmers are being forced to make in order to save their own lives. The Afghan government has embarked on a massive eradication program to destroy poppy fields in the most popular growing areas. But this program has had a drastic collateral effect on farm families, who have borrowed money from traffickers to grow their crops. Once destroyed, they cannot pay these loans back. The only thing of value they now possess is their children and, in particular, their daughters. When the traffickers arrive to demand payment the farmers are told: “Give us your daughters, or we will kill you.” Girls as young as six, are sold into sex-slavery to save their fathers. Opium Brides follows the stories of five families on the run from traffickers. By the end, just two girls remain free. As one girl tells us: “If they take me, I'll have to kill myself. Death is better than sorrow and sadness.” 

Biography: 

Jamie Doran is an award-winning director/producer and internationally published author. Recent awards include the Gold Special Jury Prize “REMI” for Afghan Massacre: the Convoy of Death and the World Gold Medal at the New York Festivals for The Need for Speed. 

Contact Information: 

E-mail: info@clover-films.com
Web site: www.clover-films.com/