"Skateistan": Tryin to be a Kid in War Torn Afghanistan

SUMMARY

Filmmaker Orlando von Einsiedel's "Skateistan" follows a Kabul skate park's founders and the kids who come there to have fun and perhaps jumpstart some changes in their country. This excerpt is part of The Economist Film Project series of independently produced films aired in partnership between The Economist and the NewsHour. Transcript

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We're looking at the film "Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul," a documentary that follows the lives of young skateboarders in Afghanistan, this week as part of our partnership with The Economist magazine that showcases the art of filmmaking.

June 15, 2011 - "Skateistan: To Live and Skate Kabul" was produced and directed by Orlando von Einsiedel, who co-founded Grain Media, and has produced several award-winning documentaries, promos and shorts.

Von Einsiedel sent us this about the making of "Skateistan":

I first heard about the good work of Skateistan from a friend who was doing aid work in Kabul. My ears immediately pricked up. Grain Media's background was in action sports (once upon a time, I was a pro snowboarder and used to make snowboard films), but for the last few years I have spent a lot of my career shooting documentaries about social issues in places experiencing conflict. {continued}

On June 21, Skateistan Afghan Skate School is organizing our 3rd annual Go Skateboarding Day Kabul, the only event of its kind in Afghanistan. The kids of Skateistan will take to the streets, doing a loop from the Skateistan park through some of the city’s oldest districts. Participants will celebrate the day by wearing traditional clothing while they represent the Afghan skate scene to the world: shalwar camises for boys and brightly coloured celebration clothes for the girls. {continued}

SKATEISTAN: TO LIVE AND SKATE KABUL from Diesel New Voices on Vimeo.