On the 52nd anniversary of the Afghan Film Organization, Afghan actors and cinema personalities on Thursday lamented that no major work has been done for culture in the country since the fall of President Najibullah's government.
They said that the 1980s were the "golden era" for Afghanistan’s cinema industry.
The Afghan acting minister of information and culture, Tahir Zaheer, said there has not been a specific strategy and policy to develop Afghanistan’s cinema industry.
Latif Ahmadi, an Afghan actor and filmmaker, said that after the fall of Najibullah’s government in 1992, no major work was done on the development of cinema and culture in Afghanistan.
“Nothing has been done by the Afghan government to develop the cinema industry, the cinema’s budget was given to the Ministry of Information and Culture to protect cultural heritage--why didn’t they want to work for culture? Because culture has direct links with the people’s awareness, their mindset and their work,” said Ahmadi.
(Mujasamaha Mekhandad, Khakister, Hamasa-e-Ishq, Akhtar-e-Maskhara, Begana, Marda ra qawl as) are among the famous films created during the 80s.
“I expect the faculty of arts and cinema of Kabul University to train new young people and encourage them to make films,” said Mamnoon Maqsoudi, an Afghan cinema actor.
The Afghan Film Organization was established in 1968 but has not been active due to the four decades of war in the country.