Venezia 78 announces an Afghanistan crisis panel

The 78^th Venice International Film Festival of La Biennale di Venezia has announced a panel discussion about the crisis now underway in Afghanistan with special attention to the situation of filmmakers and Afghan artists in general, in the tragic context in which the entire population of the country now finds itself.

The panel discussion, the first initiative that La Biennale has dedicated to these themes, will be held on Saturday September 4^th at 3 pm at the Palazzo del Casinò (Lido di Venezia), in the Press conference room.

The participants will include the Afghan filmmaker Sahraa Karimi, the first woman president of the Afghan Film Organisation and author of the recent appeal to raise awareness among the media, governments and humanitarian organisations around the world about the conditions in her Country. She has been a guest at the Venice Film Festival in the past.

The theme of the panel is the dramatic situation of filmmakers and Afghan artists in general, the need to create humanitarian corridors and a guarantee that they will be granted the status of political refugees, in addition to concern about their future and the need to help them get settled once they reach Europe.

The panel will be moderated by journalist Giuliano Battiston, who has dedicated his work since 2007 to Afghanistan, in travels, research and essays, and will feature the participation of Afghan documentary filmmaker Sahra Mani (who is presenting a project at the CoProduction Market of the Venice Film Festival), and members of the board of the International Coalition for Filmmakers at Risk (ICFR), Vanja Kaludjercic (Artistic Director of the Rotterdam International Film Festival), Orwa Nyrabia (Artistic Director of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), Mike Downey (President of the European Film Academy) and Matthijs Wouter Knol (Executive Director of the European Film Academy).