NEWS RELEASE
For immediate release
20th October 2010

Jewish Filmmaker Wins Christian Award for Film on Afghanistan

Australian documentary filmmaker Gary Caganoff’s latest film on Afghanistan has been honoured with a Human Rights award from the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), and SIGNIS (the World Catholic Association of Communication). Both WACC and SIGNIS announced their joint Human Rights Award for 2010 in Brussels late last week. Unanimous in their decision, the award has been given to the documentary ‘The Garden at the End of the World‘, produced and directed by Caganoff, for its rare sensitivity in the portrayal of human rights issues of ordinary people.

Philip Lee, Deputy Director of Programmes for WACC commented, “While there are now many feature length films on Afghanistan, it is much rarer to find a sensitively crafted documentary that shows ordinary people trying to rebuild their lives and those of others. WACC works to promote communication for social justice and the right to communicate and SIGNIS aims to promote a culture of peace. As such, the programmes and projects we support take a rights-based approach.”

Asked to explain the documentary’s relevance to people of faith, Lee said, “The Garden at the End of the World is wonderful in that it shows how many people of different beliefs can work together for the common good.”

The Garden at the End of the World is a confronting documentary on Afghanistan illustrating the tragic consequences of war and the widespread hunger, homelessness and lawlessness that it causes. The film portrays the lives of the hardest hit, the widows and orphans, who number in tens of thousands and follows two Australian women: humanitarian, Mahboba Rawi (OAM), an Afghan refugee and internationally recognised permaculturalist Rosemary Morrow, a Quaker, who both offer alternatives to the ‘reconstruction’ efforts that have not worked.

Through these two remarkable women, Caganoff elicits stories and images of Afghanistan rarely seen before. Neither sentimental nor sensational the film is remarkable, reaching into the depths and complexities of war torn Afghanistan.

Excited by the award, Caganoff (who describes himself in the film as “Jewish with Buddhist tendencies”) explains, “The film is not religious, nor is it political. It manages to fly under the radar of both and focus on basic human rights issues that aren’t being addressed by either. Rosemary, Mahboba and Mahboba’s Uncle Haji, who also features in the film, are true heroes. They work with passion and humility to help the Afghani women and children re-build their lives. This award is a wonderful recognition of their inspiring work.”

“I’d also like to thank SIGNIS and WACC for the award, which is honourable acknowledgment of my own passion and dedication to Afghanistan over the last seven years” says Caganoff.

The production of The Garden at the End of the World was mainly funded by Caganoff, an independent filmmaker of 20 years, with the support of Screen Australia, The Documentary Foundation Australia and generous private donations.

The DVD is available from the film’s website: http://www.TheGardenAtTheEndOfTheWorld.Info

ENDS

Please contact Gary Caganoff for more information and interviews
Photos from the film also available for publication to print or web.

BACKGROUND:

Mahboba Rawi, a refugee from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, lives in Sydney. In 2001 she established a not-for-profit organisation, Mahboba’s Promise, and began intervening and assisting thousands of homeless widows and orphans. Mahboba was recently honoured with an OAM for her outstanding work.

Rosemary Morrow, based in the Blue Mountains, is a permaculturalist who has spent the last 30 years working with war torn communities, helping them to re-establish their lives centred on the self sufficiency and resilience they once enjoyed. Highly respected in the global permaculture community she is considered one of the pioneers of permaculture along with founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren.

More on Rosemary…

Gary Caganoff has spent 20 years making environmental and social justice films as an independent filmmaker. His first broadcast documentary ‘The Second Step’, featuring double above-knee leg amputee Warren Macdonald on his epic 28 day journey to climb Federation Peak in the Tasmanian wilderness, was the first Australian film to ever win the Grand Prize at the prestigious Banff Mountain Film Festival in 2002. The film screened on the ABC (Australia) and National Geographic channels around the world.

Caganoff is a minimalist filmmaker and carries only a small indiscreet camera with a microphone mounted on top. He was one of the pioneers of the single camera technique in the early 90’s when cameras where miniturised, enabling him to pack his gear into a backpack and film in remote locations for weeks on end using a small solar panel to recharge batteries.

On The Garden at the End of the World Caganoff was producer, director, director of photography, writer, editor and narrator. Ex ABC editor Michael Norton was his mentor for the project.

With a Quick Response grant from Screen Australia, Caganoff was able to follow Rosemary Morrow (his landlord in the Blue Mountains, Australia) to Afghanistan, where they spent two months living and working in the Kabul orphanage of aid organisation Mahboba’s Promise.

Documentary Synopsis

Global television distribution by TVF International, London

Global DVD distribution by Lysis Films.