Barefoot to Herat

Barefoot to Herat
Barefoot to Herat
Directed by	Majid Majidi
Written by	Majid Majidi
Produced by	Majid Majidi, Fouad Nahas
Distributed by	2t3mtv Television Inc. (Canada)
Release date	2002;
Running time	70 min.
Country	Iran
Language	Persian

Barefoot to Herat (Persian: پابرهنه تا هرات, Pa Berahneh ta Herat) is a 2002 Iranian film by Majid Majidi. It is a documentary about the plight of Afghan refugees just after the 2001 military offensive against the Taliban.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Background

The film was shot primarily at two refugee camps in Western Afghanistan, one called Makaki in a territory controlled by the Northern Alliance. The rest of the film was shot at another camp called Maslakh, in the city of Herat. The camps are makeshift and conditions are inhumane, making them ill-suited for families whose lives have been torn apart by war. Through interviews with peasants, soldiers, children, and the elderly, Majidi finds the human spirit intact, and still in need of joy and memories and dreams.