The International Writing program presents Opium War tonight at 7:30 on campus in room E105 of the Adler Journalism Building.
The film is being shown as part of Cinematheque, a series of films curated by the visiting writers of the UI International Writing Program, and was selected by fall resident Mujib Mehrdad (a sampling of his poetry can be found here.)
The 2008 film, in which two American soldiers crash land in Afghanistan and go on to encounter a poppy-farming family living in a salvaged Soviet tank, is director Siddiq Barmak’s sardonic take on the role opium production and drug-dealing have played in shaping his country in the post-Taliban era. In this interview with World Link TV, Barmak elaborates on his views on Afghanistan’s social and political state and how they motivated him to make this film.
Highlight image by UNAMA / Eric Kanalstein
