saving mes aynak is a 2014 independent documentary film , directed , produced , shot and edited by brent e. huffman .

it focuses on afghan archaeologist qadir temori and his struggle to save mes aynak , a 5,000-year-old archaeological site in afghanistan which faces demolition .

saving mes aynak was the 2014 recipient of a macarthur foundation grant in 2014 .

saving mes aynak premiered at the international documentary film festival amsterdam in november 2014 .

it later aired on al jazeera america and al jazeera english networks in july 2015 and was also broadcast on multiple other networks in various countries .

the film was directed by brent e. huffman .

he was awarded the the international academic forum documentary film award in 2015 in part for his work on the film .

saving mes aynak

saving mes aynak <EOT> saving mes aynak earns 23rd award since 2014 release ; dvd available nov . 8

it is easy to see why saving mes aynak goes round collecting . . .

saving mes aynak is definitely worth your watch . it ' s . . .

news release : free film screening of ‘saving mes aynak’ at mcdaniel nov . 2

brent huffman is an award - winning documentary filmmaker and director of saving mes aynak .

urltoken saving mes aynak : qadir temori , brent e . huffman : movies & tv

“saving mes aynak” debuts this weekend in amsterdam at the international documentary film festival in amsterdam .

watch the exclusive clip from “saving mes aynak” below and visit the indiegogo campaign page here .

saving mes aynak premiered at the international documentary film festival amsterdam last november and follows archaeologist qadir temori and his fight to save the mes aynak site .

news release : free film screening of ' saving mes aynak ' at mcdaniel nov . 2 | mcdaniel college

huffman and “saving mes aynak” also have partnered with icarus films , one of the world ' s leading distributors of documentary films . icarus will oversee the north american educational , home , and digital release of “saving mes aynak . ”

chicago not - for - profit documentary collective kartemquin films will release saving mes aynak free to the people of afghanistan .

the afghan archaeologists at mes aynak risk their lives everyday to preserve their cultural history . learn more about the sacrifices they make in this video , with footage from the documentary saving mes aynak .

saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to stop the crumbling monasteries and ruins from being destroyed .

: i wonder if indian govt can influence afghanistan govt to save mes aynak . for saving of international heritage , is it po…

i created saving mes aynak to be a catalyst for change . my hope is that the documentary can actually save mes aynak by rallying international support to stop the destruction of this site scheduled for next year .

saving mes aynak has been selected for the prestigious fipa festival international de programmes audiovisuels , screening this january 21 , 2015 in biarritz , france .

shot his documentary entitled saving mes aynak , which follows the archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save the site from imminent demolition .

brent huffman ' s documentary " saving mes aynak " will screen six times at the international documentary film festival in amsterdam nov . 22 - 30

brent e . huffman presenting special advanced screening of " saving mes aynak " at the rubin museum of art in new york on dec . 18

brent e . huffman presenting special advance screening of " saving mes aynak " at the rubin museum of art in new york on dec . 18

professor and director of " saving mes aynak " brent e . huffman is honored to be selected as the president of the arkhaios film festival jury for the archaeology and culture film festival this october . ( " saving mes aynak " won the grand prize at the festival back in 2015 ) urltoken

saving mes aynak , an award - winning documentary film that follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori in his campaign to save the mes aynak site in central logar province from demolition by a chinese company , has been released in afghanistan .

saving mes aynak director brent e . huffman appeared on cnn ' s amanpour with christiane amanpour to discuss the dire situation currently facing this historic heritage site .

brent huffman ' s documentary " saving mes aynak " will screen six times at the international documentary film festival in amsterdam nov . 22 - 30 ~ arcablog

" the ending of mes aynak - - the end of its story - - hasn ' t been written . . . and we have a chance to save the site . " featuring brent huffman , from the saving mes aynak chicago premiere panel discussion .

in traveling to the region on his own many times , “saving mes aynak” director brent e . huffman risked his life at the hands of land mines and taliban fighters .

ironically , mes aynak was also one of the earliest known copper mining centres in the world - where the precious material was mined and smelted using ancient technology used in coin production and in the creation of ancient buddhist artifacts . if mes aynak were to be tragically destroyed , saving mes aynak would be the only visual record that this wondrous city ever existed .

in traveling to the region on his own many times , “ saving mes aynak ” director brent e . huffman risked his life at the hands of landlines and taliban fighters .

summary : saving mes aynak , a 2014 award - winning documentary film , chronicles one afghan archaeologist’s fight to save a 5 , 000 - year - old buddhist site from ruin .

gilded buddha head discovered at mes aynak . copyright © brent e . huffman . all rights reserved

saving mes aynak , from kartemquin films , the producers of life itself and the interrupters , examines the conflict between cultural preservation and economic opportunity , through the lens of the afghan archaeologists and local villagers who live and work near mes aynak . called , " a doc of crucial immediacy . . . advocacy filmmaking at its best and most chilling , " by indiewire , saving mes aynak is both a powerful and moving film , and an inspiring call to action .

brent huffman , the director behind the new documentary “saving mes aynak , ” tells the story of one of afghanistan’s archaeological treasures and discusses the threats it faces from a chinese mining company .

brent e . huffman , director of saving mes aynak , has not returned to afghanistan since completing thefilm’s production work as he allegedly received kidnapping and death threats from insurgents controlling the area .

the filmmakers behind saving mes aynak have announced a global screening day to spread awareness about a 5 , 000 - year - old buddhist archaeological site in afghanistan on the brink of destruction .

brent huffman ' s documentary saving mes aynak will premiere at the international documentary film festival in amsterdam this week . here ' s a list of the show times . a synopsis of the film :

to the segment on the november 19 pbs newshour by frank carlson , " in ' saving mes aynak , ' a real - life indiana jones fights to protect afghanistan ' s buddhist heritage " .

# savemesaynak day is finally here ! on this day , we will unite in watching saving mes aynak , and announce to the world that we believe in saving mes aynak , and in protecting culture , history , and human rights . the more noise we make , the more the afghanistan government , chinese state - owned mining company , and unesco will listen . join us to make history !

the award - winning documentary saving mes aynak was a hit at idfa 2014 and full frame 2015 , but more than just a documentary it’s also harnessing an activist campaign to save this ancient site .

so mes aynak and those who are working there to protect the site need our help more than ever .

“saving mes aynak” has premiered at a selection of high profile film festivals including the international documentary film festival amsterdam ( idfa ) , full frame documentary film festival , american documentary festival palm springs and dokufest kosovo .

kartemquin films will make director brent e . huffman’s documentary , “ saving mes aynak , ” available for free to the people of afghanistan , the chicago - based not - for - profit documentary collective announced .

the award - winning film saving mes aynak follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5 , 000 - year - old buddhist archeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition by a chinese state - owned mining company , who plan to destroy mes aynak to mine for $ 100 billion worth of copper .

brent e . huffman gives an in - depth interview on the trials of making saving mes aynak with joe corey of insidepulse , following our screening at the prestigious full frame documentary film festival in durham , nc .

saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5 , 000 - year - old archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition . a chinese . . . see full summary »

with only ten percent of the site excavated , some believe mes aynak holds historic keys that could unlock mysteries of afghan history—and the history of buddhism itself . as conflict , globalization , and economic opportunity come to blows in afghanistan , saving mes aynak chronicles the efforts of those risking their lives to preserve a slice of afghan heritage .

mes aynak is a 5 , 000 - year - old archeological site that sits in the mountains outside of kabul . it is rich with historic artifacts , such asthisfine golden buddha . the site sits on top of a vast deposit of copper that will soon be mined in an open pit . ( brent huffman / saving mes aynak )

here ' s a link to the petition to president hamid karzai to prevent the destruction of the archaeological site mes aynak and a relevant facebook page , the buddhas of aynak .

that the u . s . military army corp of engineers allocated one million dollars to support artifact preservation in mes aynak .

the rubin museum of art , in co - presentation with nyu ' s institute for the study of the ancient world , will show the documentary " saving mes aynak " on wednesday at 7 p . m . on dec . 18 . the director brent e . huffman will be at the special advance screening on december 18 and talk afterward about mes aynak .

in order to gain attention to the issue , the film will screen worldwide on july 1st with vhx streaming access purchased only through indiegogo . the filmmakers are trying to raise $ 50 , 000 in order to share the film and convey the importance of saving mes aynak . “the more funds we raise , the more people will see the film and know the beauty and importance of mes aynak , and the greater the chance of mes aynak being saved , ” write the filmmakers on their indiegogo page .

fair observer ' s will calhoun publishes two - part interview with documentarian brent h . huffman on " the race to save mes aynak

" ) that archaeologists may only have until june to work at mes aynak unless something can be worked out once the excavation begins .

fair observer ' s will calhoun publishes two - part interview with documentarian brent e . huffman on " the race to save mes aynak "

mes aynak is one of the world ' s great heritage sites . the history there is irreplaceable . . . yet , it ' s threatened by destruction this year ( 2015 ) by a chinese - state owned mining company . see the beauty of mes aynak in this short video .

“the more that people are able to see the film , and the more who sign the urltoken petition asking afghanistan president ashraf ghani to request unesco make mes aynak a world heritage site , the greater the chances that mes aynak and its invaluable history can be saved , ” said huffman .

mes aynak is grand and awe - inspiring and has the magical ability to lure people ( like me ) from all over the world to fall in love with its mysterious beauty . archaeologists estimate that only 10 percent of mes aynak has been discovered - only the tip of an enormous iceberg .

saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5 , 000 - year - old archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition . a chinese state - owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site , eager to harvest $ 100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins . only 10 % of mes aynak has been excavated , though , and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself . saving mes aynak examines the conflict between cultural preservation and economic opportunity through the lens of the afghan archaeologists and local villagers who work and live near mes aynak . qadir temori and his fellow afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the chinese , the taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure .

evanston , ill . - - the reva & david logan foundation has awarded a $ 50 , 000 social justice grant to northwestern university professor brent huffman and kartemquin films to help raise awareness about the plight of an ancient archeology site featured in the documentary film “saving mes aynak . ”

sma director brent e . huffman appeared on huffington post live with marc lamont hill to talk about mes aynak and the global movement to save it .

but that doesn ' t mean that mes aynak is by any means secure . huffman says he is doing his part to get the word out .

the outreach campaign has three goals : to preserve mes aynak as a protected cultural heritage site ; to widen public perspective of afghanistan ' s cultural heritage ; and to strengthen the archaeology department at the afghan ministry of culture in kabul to protect mes aynak and other important historical sites in afghanistan , huffman said .

china metallurgical group corp ( mcc ) wants to extract the $ 100bn worth of copper lying beneath the ruins of the ancient buddhist city of mes aynak .

unfortunately , the situation at mes aynak has taken a turn for the worse recently . afghan archaeologists working at the site need international support more than ever .

on the arca blog you may read additional posts on mes aynak ' s threatened by copper excavation ; dangerous precedent ; extension ; and kickstart funds usage .

" now the afghan archaeologists can accurately record record their findings at the buddhist city at mes aynak and other archaeology sites in afghanistan , " huffman wrote .

saving mes aynak , a 2014 award - winning kartemquin documentary film , chronicles one afghan archaeologist’s fight to save a 5 , 000 - year - old buddhist site from ruin . as a chinese mining company closes in on mes aynak , hoping to extract $ 100 billion dollars’ worth of copper buried underneath , qadir temori and his team of archaeologists face an almost impossible battle to thwart the imminent demolition amid embroiled conflict with the taliban and local political play .

the governor of logar province ( where mes aynak is located ) was murdered last month - journalists speculate it was due to his support of the chinese deal .

saving mes aynak stands not only as a reflection of these courageous efforts to protect and preserve invaluable cultural heritage , but also represents a voice for the voiceless - a vehicle where afghans can speak out on camera against these injustices happening all around them . now these passionate , courageous voices will finally be heard .

the film , produced and directed by huffman , follows the frantic efforts of archaeologists working to save the ancient buddhist site of mes aynak in afghanistan from imminent destruction .

" saving mes aynak " airs on the program " witness " on al jazeera america on saturday at 10 p . m . et / 7 p . m . pst . you can also stream the film on the kartemquin films website for $ 9 . 99 ( or for free if you live in afghanistan ) .

saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5 , 000 - year - old archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent destruction . a chinese state - owned mining company plans to mine the copper deposits beneath it ; the operation will demolish the ancient city together with the entire mountain range .

saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races to save the mes aynak site from imminent demolition by china metallurgical group corporation ( mcc ) , a chinese state - owned mining company ready to harvest an estimated $ 100 billion dollars worth of copper . located within afghanistan’s taliban - controlled logar province , mes aynak is a 5 , 000 year - old bronze age site and 2 , 000 year - old buddhist silk road city of historical and cultural importance archeologists have stated could potentially be comparable to machu picchu or pompeii . only 10 % of the site has so far been excavated , but corruption is rampant , and the site could be destroyed at any time . urltoken

located 18 miles south of kabul , the ancient site of mess aynak was rediscovered in the mid - 20th century . now archaeologists have less than four months to extract artifacts from mes aynak before a chinese company begins mining the world ' s second largest copper deposit .

“saving mes aynak” has won more than ten domestic and international awards and will be screened around the world in the upcoming months , including at the louvre in paris as part of the film international conference on art , 9th edition . it will also air in india , nepal , australia , czech republic , canada , singapore and hong kong .

that rich archaeological heritage is now in jeopardy as a chinese state - run mining company , which paid $ 3 billion for rights to mine the site in 2007 , moves forward with plans to turn the site into an open pit mine next year . and that threat is the subject of a new documentary , “ saving mes aynak . ”

the site is called mes aynak , which means “little source of copper , ” and contains an estimated $ 100 billion in deposits . but mes aynak is also home to the remains of a 2 , 000 - year - old buddhist city , as well as statues , paintings , figurines and other artifacts from the previous civilizations dating back some 5 , 000 years .

# savemesaynak day on july 1 will spark worldwide protest , conversation , and action around saving mes aynak , an award - winning documentary that exposes a chinese company ' s plan to turn a 5 , 000 year - old archeological site in afghanistan into a copper mine , destroying priceless buddhist relics . thousands of people will watch the film together worldwide .

this cultural travesty serves as the basis of brent huffman ' s documentary , " saving mes aynak , " which tells the story of one afghan archeologist ' s struggle to excavate as much of the site as possible before the mining company takes it over — all while dealing with vanishing budgets and dodging improvised explosive devices unhelpfully deposited by the local taliban .

all funds raised , the statement adds , will go towards supporting the efforts in saving the historic site , and in educating people about the importance of preserving cultural heritage .

it is easy to see why saving mes aynak goes round collecting award after award . i had never heard of the ruins of mes aynak until i came across this story online . i was really intrigued by the fact such a huge site exists and yet is so little known . i visited the saving mes aynak website and requested a screening of the film in my local town . i am so glad i did . this has to be one of the best documentaries i have ever seen . basically it is the story of the afghan archaeologists who are up against a chinese mining company and the taliban while trying to preserve this little known site in the mountains of afghanistan . beautifully filmed , beautifully told , this story brought a tear to my eye and made me wish i could do more to help preserve such an amazing site . the love of the archaeologists for their cultural heritage alone makes this worth seeing .

documentarian brent e . huffman raised $ 35 , 200 on kickstart for the buddhas of mes aynak . on friday he announced on facebook ( the buddhas of aynak ) that new computers and cameras have been purchased from 10 % of those kickstart funds for the afghan archaeology office in kabul .

huffman called the grant a “game - changing development” because it allows him to hire an outreach team and to keep traveling with the film to lecture about the importance and significance of mes aynak .

only 10 percent of mes aynak has been excavated , though , and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself .

" the 5 , 000 - year - old history at mes aynak , it ' s world history , " says huffman . " and that is something we should all care about . "

in the days since " saving mes aynak " premiered at the international documentary film festival in amsterdam late last year , the film has helped draw international attention to the importance of this buried city , which drew on influences from as far west as greece and as far east as china . ( the guardian has a terrific overview of the site ' s history . )

the us premiere of saving mes aynak will be coming soon but is still yet to be announced , but we are delighted to present an exclusive sneak preview on march 6 , 2015 7 : 00 pm at northwestern university ' s block museum . this free screening will be attended by brent huffman , who is a faculty member at northwestern ' s medill school . get more details .

" this archaeology is not just about distant civilizations lost in time , mes aynak is about how archaeology , politics , economics , imperialism , terrorism and cultural identity are in conflict right here and now . "

kartemquin is currently offering streams , downloads , dvd / blu - rays and public screenings of “saving mes aynak” through their campaign on indiegogo . an initial 10 % of the $ 50 , 000 campaign goal of raised funds will also go directly to funding archeologists preserving the site . should the filmmakers exceed their goal before midnight pdt on june 26 , they will double that direct donation to 20 % .

in addition to the gigantic buddhas destroyed by the taliban in 2001 , another buddhist site , mes aynak , in afghanistan is being threatened by the country ' s desire to improve its economy by extracting natural resources .

located in taliban - infested central logar province , mes aynak is a 5 , 000 year - old bronze age site and 2 , 000 year - old buddhist silk road city of massive historical and cultural importance .

before midnight on july 1 , which has been declared save mes aynakday globally , according to the statement .

“in mes aynak , the silence gives me a sense of connection to the past , ” huffman said . “my mind floods with what life was like in this vibrant city . recklessly destroying it is like erasing history . ”

on september 15 , 2015 , we had the honor of screening saving mes aynak to a full a theater at the world - renowned carnegie endowment for international peace , one of the most important and influential think tanks in the world . here is the full audio from the discussion and q & a following the screening , which was moderated by tom carver , carnegie ' s vp for communications and strategy ( and former bbc correspondent ) .

mes aynak , which translates into “little source of copper” , is a site located 40 km southeast of kabul in central logar province . it contains afghanistan’s largest copper deposit and remains of an ancient settlement with more than 400 buddhist relics .

a german camera and kartemquin films co - production saving mes aynak a film by brent e . huffman fixer / translater najibullah sedeqe post production supervisor ryan gleeson co - editor matt lauterbach consulting editor jim klein edited by brent e . huffman original score homayoun sakhi cinematography & amp ; sound brent e . huffman executive producers julia reichert gordon quinn justine nagan & brian gilman produced by brent e . huffman xiaoli zhou & zak piper directed by brent e . huffman

saving mes aynak follows the archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5 , 000 - year - old archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition . a chinese state - owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site , eager to harvest $ 100 billion dollars’ worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins . only 10 % of mes aynak has been excavated , though , and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself . qadir temori and his fellow afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the chinese , the taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure .

isis destroyed thousands of years of human history when they sacked the mosul museum in iraq . we could not protect those artifacts , but we can protect mes aynak from corporate demolition . will we take a stand to stop this senseless destruction ?

film synopsis saving mes aynak follows afghan archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save a 5 , 000 - year - old archaeological site in afghanistan from imminent demolition . a chinese state - owned mining company is closing in on the ancient site , eager to harvest $ 100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins . only 10 % of mes aynak has been excavated , though , and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself . qadir temori and his fellow afghan archaeologists face what seems an impossible battle against the chinese , the taliban and local politics to save their cultural heritage from likely erasure .

a magnificent buddhist settlement along the silk road , mes aynak can be the most important archaeological discovery in a generation . the excavated fraction of the site reveals that future digs will possibly redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself .

hannah bloch has covered afghanistan since 1996 , when she was named time magazine’s first full - time correspondent for pakistan and afghanistan , a post she held for six years . her story “rescuing mes aynak " appears in the september 2015 issue of national geographic .

mes aynak , located in the mountains east of kabul , came to the attention of modern archaeologists in the 1960s when a french geologist surveyed the area for copper deposits , and instead found a buried ancient city that covered an estimated 2 . 5 square miles .

the heart of " saving mes aynak " is qadir temori , the good - humored afghan archaeologist who has poured his efforts into rescuing what he can of the ancient site before the clock runs out . in the film , he is seen facing everything from inclement weather , to threatening text messages from the taliban , to government officials who seem unable or unwilling to pay the archaeological staff or supply them with basic materials ( despite the fact that millions in international funds have been invested in the project ) .

documentarian brent e . huffman has announced on his kickstarter page , the buddhas of mes aynak , that archaeologists have six to nine more months to remove relics and artifacts from the ancient monastery in afghanistan before the site is transformed into the world ' s second largest copper mine .

team came home with the best documentary award - international one - hour film competition at the cinemambiente international environmental film festival . the festival , in its 18th year , took place in torino , italy from october 6 - 11 , 2015 . cinemambiente serves as one of the leading environmental film festivals in the world . in awarding this prize , cinemambiente recognizes saving mes aynak for its " balanced presentation and concise treatment of the political , cultural , human , social , and environmental issues in present day afghanistan . " congratulations to the

the dream situation for me would be to save mes aynak and do a proper archaeological dig , save everything , and make it a tourist destination . but i think that will only happen with massive public support for the site , and unesco would have to come in and assist archaeologists .

the remains of mes aynak of more than 300 buddha statues and stupas were scheduled to be destroyed at the end of 2012 ( here ' s an arca interview with mr . huffman last september on the site ' s endangerment and background on archaeologists ' efforts to protect the site ) .

un excellent documentaire sur l ' archéologie en afghanistan et sur les fouilles de mes aynak , un magnifique site bouddhiste en danger face aux mines de cuivre gérées par une entreprise chinoise . une terrible bataille engagée par qadir ternori un archéologue très motivé . espérons que le temps jouera en sa faveur .

saving mes aynak is definitely worth your watch . it ' s probably the last motion picture record of this historic archaeological site in afghanistan . it is a thorough and significant record of china ' s terrifying reach across the world for the natural resources and sovereignty of underdeveloped countries . the film is also a rare record of people ' s coming together from all corners of the world with the shared understanding that culture and history shall never be overshadowed by economic gains of a few . real , educational , and exquisite . watch with your friends , kids , or students !

by director brent huffman has continued to spark dialogue and make headlines regarding the imminent destruction of a mes aynak , one of the world ' s most significant archeological excavations , by a chinese state - owned mining company eager to harvest $ 100 billion dollars worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins .

two kilometers far from kabul , in logar province , it’s possible to see a magnificent piece of afghanistan’s history , a treasure hidden in the bends of time and now revealed . here lays mes aynak a 5000 - year - old archaeological site , an entire buddhist city of 450 , 000 square meters .

“afghanistan is not a rich country and they are under immense pressure to develop their mineral resources . but it will be very hard for anyone who sees the beauty of mes aynak , and the corruption going on , to still think mining this site will be beneficial for the country , ” he says .

: watch the film here on july 1 - # savemesaynak day in afghanistan ? watch for free ! watch the broadcast on witness - al jazeera at 20 gmt on al jazeera english . see the beauty of mes aynak , and take a stand to stop its destruction . www . savingmesaynak . com .

saving mesaynak , which had a world premiere at the international documentary film festival 2014 , exposes the plans ofchina metallurgical group corporation ( mcc ) , a chinese state - owned mining company , to turn a 5 , 000 archeological siteinto a copper mine , destroying old buddhist relics .

is celebrating a successful year of reaching audiences all over the world , raising global awareness about the contentious fate of the mes aynak historic site . 2016 is shaping up to be an even bigger year for our film and its awareness and outreach campaign , as we can now announce fresh funding and distribution partners .

buried in the copper - rich mountains , today mes aynak is contended by the archeologists on one side and by a chinese mining consortium , that bought the entire site for 3 billion of dollars . every day many brave archaeologists risk their lives to reach the site , facing the taliban and local politics’ threats .

who knows what still lays hidden , buried under a mountain of sand and earth ? at the heart of the silk road , mes aynak was a melting pot of asian and middle eastern cultures where travellers and buddhists on pilgrimages could trade their wares , exchange cultural perspectives and even worship together at the same location .

sadly , when the taliban blew up the buddhas of bamiyan , people were horrified and shocked and it really rallied them . however , it was too late . my fear is that the same thing will happen with mes aynak , that there will be silence until it is destroyed and then there will be outrage .

“afghanistan is the wild west with so much corruption , ” huffman said . “what i don’t like about the argument of mining ‘responsibly’ and ‘preserving’ cultural sites is that in the end it won’t be good for afghanistan . the money will be lost in corruption , the high - level jobs will go to the chinese , and the locals will get the low paid slave labor jobs . plus , the toxins left over from mining will be in the ground permanently . advocates for mes aynak have tried to get cooperation between the mining and cultural preservation but it doesn’t seem that anyone involved sees any value in the mes aynak site . ”

saving mes aynak world premiered in november 2014 at idfa , the world’s largest documentary festival , and debuted in the us in 2015 at american documentary film festival in palm springs and at full frame documentary festival . it has won festivals wards in the us and in iran , and was praised as “advocacy filmmaking at its best… unique and immediate , ” by indiewire . following # savemesaynak day , the film will be broadcast in a number of countries around the world , including on al jazeera america and al jazeera english , and will be available to screen to a combination of educational institutions and community venues .

i want to go back and present the film personally in afghanistan , but even if that is not possible we want the film to be seen there above all else . this is our gift to the people of afghanistan , but also a challenge to those with the power to reverse this decision and save mes aynak .

follows archaeologist qadir temori as he races against time to save this 5 , 000 - year - old buddhist archeological site from imminent demolition . so far only 10 % of mes aynak has been excavated , though , and some believe that future discoveries there have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself .

a petition to president hamid karzai requests the preservation of the ancient site of mes aynak . here ' s a link to the petition . another petition sponsored by the association for protection of afghan archaeology ( apaa ) with more than 13 , 000 signatures asks unesco to include mess aynak , afghanistan , on the endangered sites and the world heritage list . afghanistan ratified unesco ' s 1970 convention in 1979 . two cultural sites are listed on the world heritage list : cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the bamiyan valley ( 2003 ) and minaret and archaeological remains of jam ( 2002 ) . here ' s a link to the penn museum blog with a post about mess aynak .

a chinese state - owned mining company plans to demolish the site to harvest an estimated $ 100 billion worth of copper buried directly beneath the archaeological ruins . but only 10 percent of mes aynak has been excavated , and some believe future discoveries at the site have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and the history of buddhism itself .

mes aynak is the living proof of an ancient and golden past , in which the region was the meeting place of people from different cultures and faiths . a place at the heart of the silk road and today protected by 200 armed guards . in the last years the site has been looted and today it is under the government custody .

documentary filmmaker brent e . huffman will return to mes aynak this december for what some archaeologists call the ‘funeral’ of the ancient site which will be cratered to extract copper ( valued at over 100 billion dollars ) underground , potentially setting a dangerous precedent for other ancient sites on top of gold , copper , oil and coal mines in afghanistan .

an archaeologist’s race against time to save a 2000 - year - old buddhist archaeological site in afghanistan threatened by a chinese copper mine and taliban attacks . only 10 % of mes aynak has been excavated and experts believe future discoveries have the potential to redefine the history of afghanistan and of buddhism itself . a conflict between cultural preservation and economic opportunity .

“my documentary finishes in december which feels like the definitive end to the site , ” huffman said . “i started out with the goal of capturing what is there and to record the difficult process of salvaging objects . but i have come to hope that maybe i can help raise awareness to actually save mes aynak , or at least postpone its destruction . ”

“i want to go back and present the film personally in afghanistan , but even if that is not possible we want the film to be seen there above all else , ” says mr . huffman . “this is our gift to the people of afghanistan , but also a challenge to those with the power to reverse this decision and save mes aynak . ”

“i want to go back and present the film personally in afghanistan , but even if that is not possible we want the film to be seen there above all else . this is our gift to the people of afghanistan , but also a challenge to those with the power to reverse this decision and save mes aynak , ” said huffman in a statement .

the same tragic fate will soon happen to mes aynak unless we take immediate action . we have the power to stop this senseless destruction . it is my duty both as a filmmaker and as a global citizen to get this film seen by a massive global audience that can put pressure on the afghan government to stop mining and save this incredible site for future generations .

the alliance for the restoration of cultural heritage ( arch international ) explains in a video the cultural importance of the monasteries and fortifications of mess aynak and the other pottery and jewelry found at this 5 , 000 site . the organization asks that responsible mining methods be used to help preserve the most important archaeological sites . here in a cnn video , documentary filmmaker brent e . huffman also shows the archaeological digs at mes aynak which will be closed in december . according to mr . huffman , it would take 30 - 35 years to properly excavate this site .

: there’s a petition on my facebook page with almost 70 , 000 signatures , but i think the best thing would be if a celebrity or politician would speak up and say that the us should work to preserve mes aynak . i think that would really rally support . i think if we could get hundreds of thousands of signatures — that would really save the site .

on the website and the facebook fan page people can be updated about the situation and finding out how to get involved in this important rescue mission , because if until today mes aynak is survived it’s also thanks to the work of people like brent e . huffman , archeologists like qadir temori but also of people around the world that with their support showed their love for afghanistan .

this is a film that is optimistic for a better future for afghanistan , a country plagued by over 30 years of perpetual war , yet containing one of the richest cultural histories in the world . this documentary is dedicated to afghan archaeologists , like qadir temori , who face constant threats from the taliban , private industry , and their own government to save the ancient archaeological site mes aynak .

director brent e . huffman has been unable to return to afghanistan since he finished production . filming solo at the mes aynak site , he received kidnapping and death threats from the taliban , who control the area . the film shows that several archeologists have also faced violence and even been killed while working at the site . extensive looting of priceless buddhist relics is regularly taking place and corruption is rampant .

“the resilience of this site amazes me , ” huffman said . “it has been through so much as a major hub on the silk road . the murals and statues are so fragile and yet they have survived harsh winters , floods and snow and fighting amidst land mines and rocket attacks . yet mes aynak still manages to survive and pull people in who fall in love with it and want to save it . ”

in its day , the ancient city of mes aynak was a wonder of temples , monasteries , monuments and statuary . located in the mountains about 90 minutes east of kabul , in afghanistan , this important silk road hub bears hellenistic , persian , central asian , tibetan , indian and chinese influences . it ' s peak was between the 5th and 7th centuries ad , when buddhism was on the rise throughout the hindu kush .

mes aynak , a 5 , 000 year - old treasure trove over 500 , 000 square meters in size , is truly one of the unseen wonders of the world . comparable to pompeii and machu picchu , these sprawling ruins feature hundreds of life - size or larger buddha statues , dozens of temples , hidden caverns and thousands of priceless artifacts like birch - bark manuscripts , gold and copper coins , jewelry and intricate hand painted murals .

exposes a chinese company ' s plan to turn a 5 , 000 year - old archeological site in afghanistan into a copper mine , destroying priceless buddhist relics . a team of afghan archeologists led by qadir temori races against time to uncover finds that have the potential to rewrite the history of the region . brent e . huffman ' s award - winning documentary has become a focal point of an international movement to preserve the mes aynak site .

huffman : that’s sort of when things get complicated . i’m sure the site was known about before this , but the first written evidence that the site was traveled to was in the 1960s by french archaeologists . i don’t know if there was any significant study of the site at the time . the site was left completely unprotected . no protection or way to visit the site was ever put in place , so mes aynak has been heavily looted since the 1960s .

huffman plans to return to mes aynak in december . “in october there will be some 3 - d reconstruction work and i will send someone to film that if i can’t go . i will be there in december for what the archaeologists call the ‘funeral’ and i hope we can stop it from happening . there is something so disrespectful about blowing up the site . it’s troubling to have no reverence for the past as if someone is looting your grandparents’ cemetery . ”

mining , originally slated to begin this year , has been delayed by several factors , including the documentary film , security and the chinese economy . “but the afghan ministry of mines is still pushing for mining to happen as soon as possible and the site is still under threat , ” huffman said . “my work and the film’s work – to raise awareness and save mes aynak – is still not done . but i will never give up the effort or give up hope . ”

“my fear is that mes aynak will be a precedent and that every site with gold , copper , oil or iron underneath will also be dealt with by this same standard . this is what happens to cultural heritage . this bronze age site will be gone when the mountain range is destroyed and all the afghans will be left with is a toxic crater that will pollute the river and the environment . the future of afghanistan will be a rush job of leaving polluted craters that will destroy the environment and the cultural heritage . ”

“most afghans don’t know that this is happening because there’s been no coverage in the local media , ” huffman said . “americans think of afghanistan is terrorists or victims or terrorism but it’s not that – afghans are warm , friendly and open - minded people . the buddhist sites are a testimony to afghanistan’s past . the taliban are an external force that destroyed the buddhas of bamiyan and now the chinese mining company will do the same thing at mes aynak . afghans need someone like unesco to push back against these money deals that don’t care about cultural heritage , but this is not happening today . ”

will calhoun interviewed brent huffman in the two - part article , " the race to save mes aynak " ( fair observer , feb . 1 and feb . 2 ) . brent e . huffman , an associate professor at northwestern university’s medill school of journalism , has been working on a documentary film about the site ( see previous posts on the arca blog ) . huffman has been awarded a grant from the macarthur foundation to complete his documentary , hopefully by this summer . what can people do ? huffman tells calhoun that celebrity appeal would be helpful . here ' s an excerpt from the interview :

will be streaming on netflix . this is a major opportunity for the film to be seen by american audiences and is now available with spanish subtitles , making it easier to share at bilingual workplaces and schools . the brent huffman - directed film has won 25 awards in total since it’s release in 2014 including both the grand prize and audience prize at the 2016 icronos film festival . for even more features , purchase the dvd , which includes 15 minutes of never - seen - before scenes from mes aynak , as well as closed captions and foreign language subtitles in french , german , italian , and japanese .

the mes anyak archaeological site was rediscovered in the 1960s . researchers now believe the site not only provides artifacts from the 1st through the 5th centuries but also going back to the bronze age . the 400 , 000 square meter site was never fully excavated or protected from looting during the decades of almost continuous fighting in afghanistan .


flyboys is a 2006 war drama film set during world war i , starring james franco , martin henderson , jean reno , jennifer decker , david ellison , abdul salis , philip winchester , and tyler labine .

it was directed by tony bill , a pilot and aviation enthusiast .

the screenplay about men in aerial combat was written by phil sears , blake t. evans and david s. ward with the story by blake t. evans .

themes of friendship , racial prejudice , revenge and love are also explored in the film .

the film follows the enlistment , training , and combat experiences of a group of young americans who volunteer to become fighter pilots in the lafayette escadrille , the 124th air squadron formed by the french in 1916 .

the squadron consisted of five french officers and 38 american volunteers who wanted to fly and fight in world war i before the united states ' entry into the war in 1917 .

the film ends with an epilogue that relates the fate of each american pilot to the real-life lafayette escadrille pilot upon whom his character was based .

flyboys ( film )

flyboys ( film ) <EOT> a scene from flyboys ,  which integrates filming from real life and digital effects .

flyboys is a 2006 film , directed by tony bill , about american fighter pilots flying for the french lafayette escadrille in the mid period of world war i .

flyboys flyboys films ltd . ; elstree film & television studios ; electric entertainment ; ingenious entertainment ; ingenious film partners ; skydance production ; produced by dean devlin , marc frydman ; story by blake t . evans ; screenplay by phil sears & blake t . evans and david s . ward ; directed by tony bill .

a good film is " a gathering of eagles " with rock hudson . a good sac film . i cut my teeth in sac in the later years but could relate to everything in the film .

if you want to answer the questions , " who starred in the movie flyboys ? " and " what is the full cast list of flyboys ? " then this page has got you covered .

this cast list of who was in flyboys includes both lead and minor roles . ( 14 items )

flyboys [ videorecording ] / flyboys films ltd . ; elstree film & television studios ; electric entertainment ; ingenious entertainment ; ingenious film partners ; skydance production ; produced by dean devlin , marc frydman ; story by blake t . evans ; screenplay by phil sears & blake t . evans and david s . ward ; directed by tony bill . – national library

the painstaking authenticity and appealing cast of flyboys can ' t overcome the cloyingly formulaic nature of its story .

double negative created the exciting dogfight sequences in flyboys , which depict the first american fighter - pilot squadron to confront the german aviation during world war i . all images © 2006 electric holdings ( flyboys ) inc .

flyboys cast list , listed alphabetically with photos when available . this list of flyboys actors includes any flyboys actresses and all other actors from the film . you can view additional information about each flyboys actor on this list , such as when and where they were born . to find out more about a particular actor or actress , click on their name and you ' ll be taken to page with even more details about their acting career . the cast members of flyboys have been in many other movies , so use this list as a starting point to find actors or actresses that you may not be familiar with .

does the film accurately depict charles dickens ' s writing of a christmas carol .

our fourth film will be flyboys ( pg - 13 , 140 min ) – inspired by true events , flyboys tells the story of the lafayette escadrille , a group of american men who volunteered to fight for the french before the u . s . entered world war i and became the country’s first fighter pilots .

" the flyboys " was screened at the lds film festival in 2011 . it was released internationally as " sky kids " and had a domestic theater gross of $ 144 , 680 ( boxofficemojo . com ) .

terrific film production , great story and acting . everything you could want in a movie .

as observed in a previous review , a note at the beginnning of a film that it is " inspired by true events " generally means it will be followed by some very creative " history " . flyboys is no exception .

though the film met with commercial failure , bill takes comfort in some of the positive critical responses , and hopes for a better reception in the foreign markets . he also noted that the film’s financial failure was disappointing , but his directorial work was generally praised , which alleviates some of the apprehensions about future projects . for instance , bill sent a copy of “flyboys” to tom cruise , who requested to see it and reportedly loved the film .

bill likened the film industry to gambling , referring to himself and his colleagues as “professional gamblers . ”

flying high with alain bielik and the double negative crew on flyboys . view a five - minute dogfight sequence in our new vfxworld media player .

if a great movie is defined by , " leaving the audience wanting more " . . . flyboys is the must see movie of the year ! ”

you can support history on film while doing your regular shopping . just click on any of the following links :

as history , i will give it a d . as a film , i will give it a c .

flyboys has computer imaging and a fleet of vintage aircraft on its side , but it remains considerably less convincing than wings ( 1927 ) , and less exciting .

flyboys is a 2006 war drama film set during world war i , starring james franco , martin henderson , jean reno , jennifer decker , david ellison , abdul salis , philip winchester , and tyler labine . it was directed by tony bill , a pilot and aviation enthusiast .

" everything you want " premiered on tv as an abc family original movie in 2005 before being screened at the lds film festival in 2006 . buena vista home entertainment , a disney subsidiary , released the film on dvd on 2006 .

hi all , maybe i was being too hard on flyboys . in it ' s own way it was a good film to introduce the average filmgoer to aviation combat . but the best film as i have mentioned is ' the blue max ' . made in 1966 yet it ' s flying sequences are superb . tells the story from the german side . urltoken best regards , mb _ avro .

this well - produced , engaging film somewhat overreaches itself , trying to turn a crackling adventure into a sweeping emotional epic .

meet the real people portrayed in tarantino ' s film and find out which parts of the story are based in reality .

the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .

" emma smith : my story " was still a " work in progress " when it played at the lds film festival in 2008 . the film was released in theaters later that year and grossed $ 881 , 787 ( boxofficemojo . com ) .

yearning for a time when warfare seemed so much simpler and more honourable , flyboys is a thrilling , spectacular ride - but only when its dull characters get off the ground .

bill’s latest project , the dog - fighting period piece “flyboys , ” combined two of the director’s passions – aviation ( he is a life - long pilot ) and filmmaking .

the 11th lds film festival will be held at the scera center for the arts in orem on jan . 25 - 28 .

leading a generic character roster , franco ' s laconic texan may be more smug than stalwart , but so is the movie . a tie - in " flyboys " video game is now available , designed to coincide with the film ' s release . i guarantee that script will be better than this one .

yearning for a time when warfare seemed so much simpler and more honourable , flyboys is a thrilling , spectacular ride . amazing aerial stunts they are really quite a sight to behold .

mpaa rating : pg - 13 ; for war action violence and some sexual content . board of film censors , singapore : pg .

the readings will be followed by a screening of the documentary film thank you for your service ( i hour , 28 minutes ) .

the tomatometer rating – based on the published opinions of hundreds of film and television critics – is a trusted measurement of movie and tv programming quality for millions of moviegoers . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .

" sons of provo " was screened at the lds film festival in 2005 . it had a domestic gross of $ 120 , 488 ( urltoken ) and won the genre award ( best feature comedy ) at the new york international independent film & video festival in 2004 .

pretty good movie with some great acting and dialogue . why three stars you ask ? the film follows the same exact story as almost every other ww1 / 2 pilot film . it has the distracting love story tied in with the group of rag tag characters going through training and then dealing with loosing there friends in combat . i would recommend tuskegee airmen , and the red barron film over this one . there is nothing wrong with this film its just not in my opinion worth paying for . wait till the price drops or it ends up on prime

" return with honor : a missionary homecoming " premiered at the lds film festival in 2006 as " the return . " in 2007 it won best picture at the new york international independent film and video festival and grossed $ 103 , 601 in theaters ( boxofficemojo . com ) .

the september dumping ground continues this weekend with only one real wide release with the other three new films opening in 1 , 500 to 2 , 100 theatres . on the other hand , the one film that is opening wide has a shot at becoming the biggest film of the month .

" flyboys " tells an old - fashioned tale of courage and heroism with the latest in cg technology ; unfortunately , critics say , the technology ends up overshadowing everything else . the film tells the story of a group of americans who volunteered to fly in wwi alongside the french . according to the critics , " paths of glory " this ain’t ; they note that the cg effects are excellent , and the dogfights are exciting , but the story and the characters are far less involving . at 37 percent on the tomatometer , " flyboys " doesn’t soar .

at a master class session , bill discussed his notre dame education , but was dismissive of film school as a necessary way to enter the industry .

a truly great film today is only going to come from someone who , as mrmojok pointed , can bankroll it entirely and avoid the idiots who water it down for the lowest common denominator . munich , for example , was not a simple film . it had complex characters and a fairly sophisticated storyline - but imho it was a great film . had it been made in the normal hollywood style it would have starred brad pitt and looked like commando .

about the only thing in this film that ties into those " true events " , is the existence of a first world war and a lafayette esquadrille .

captain thenault ' s scar on left cheek moves to the right cheek in one close - up revealing flipped film to make him look the other direction .

" the errand of angels " screened at the lds film festival in 2008 . it grossed $ 195 , 184 in theaters ( imdb . com ) .

what makes “flyboys” particularly unique is that it was made outside of the studio system , and was thus completely independently funded . bill is inclined toward what he calls “the smaller film , ” and while he admits that “nobody wants to [ work within the studio system ] , ” he has often done it with positive results , among them “my bodyguard” and “the sting . ”

love that gay top gun . i mean , you know , i don ' t love gay top gun , i , er . . . never seen flyboys or any of the harry potter films . neat huh .

urltoken it ' s really quite good . it was only the second major film shot with sound ! howard hughes " hells angels " ( not 81 ) sergio

flyboys is a 2006 american drama / war film set during world war i , starring james franco , martin henderson , jean reno , jennifer decker , david ellison , abdul salis , philip winchester , and tyler labine . it was directed by tony bill , a pilot and aviation enthusiast . the screenplay about men in aerial combat was written by phil sears , blake t . evans and david s . ward with the screen story by blake t . evans . themes of friendship , racial prejudice , revenge and love are also explored in the film .

this movie has not been described as a remake of the 1958 film " lafayette escadrille " directed by william wellman , but we can only assume someone , somewhere , sometime will say wellman ' s film " provided inspiration " for " flyboys " ( which is always the best way to throw a bone to the copyright lawyers ) . " lafayette escadrille " was wellman ' s swan song and , unfortunately , a rather tedious boy - meets - girl - who - turns - out - to - be - a - french - prostitute story .

" forever strong " was screened at the lds film festival in 2008 , then went on to gross $ 719 , 556 in theaters ( boxofficemojo . com ) .

" flyboys , ” which opened on friday , is a modest film as things are now measured . its ensemble cast has no eye - catching names . its director , tony bill , while a solid craftsman , has never been a major box office draw . and its budget of around $ 55 million , though substantial , is only a fraction of what studios routinely spend on their blockbusters .

we , my wife and i , saw " flyboys " last night . we think it is the best film to come out of film makers in years . the action was just great . the love story was refreshing . we left the theater feeling good , happy , and completely entertained . so , the movie wasn ' t " historically accurate . " it didn ' t claim to be . complete accuracy is for documentaries . those men were men of courage that flew those planes . what men our great grandfathers were . we ' ll buy this one and put it in our movie collection .

many people complaining about this film complain about either the cgi effects and apparent over - use or just plain horrible ( in the minds of those reviewers ) effects , or they complain about the fact that the film is riddled with one cliche after another . i would say the film is guilty as charged in those areas , but that doesn ' t mean it isn ' t a fun movie to watch and enjoy . i love the early years of aviation , the old style dog fighting in bi - planes and the like , so i thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to go see flyboys on the big screen . while not the greatest film , it was worth the price of admission and was filled with enough aircraft acrobatics to be great fun . thankfully this disc comes with some interesting extras in the special features that help raise the value when considering a purchase . personal recommendation , watch for sales on this title and get a copy of this film at a bargain price . while i find it fun and worth owning in my library , the msrp is a bit on the higher side for this title , so you may wish to wait for a nice sale to grab your copy .

chris hemsworth kicks off filming for the star - studded men in black spin - off as he cuts a sharp figure in london . . . 21 years after the first film hit screens

solid special effects and good acting by franco make this film good enough to be worth multiple watches . a story about wwi flying aces with todays special effects was long past its due .

after being screened at the lds film festival in 2004 , " the best two years " went on to gross $ 1 , 163 , 450 in theaters ( boxofficemojo . com ) .

the film follows the enlistment , training and combat experiences of a group of young americans who volunteer to become fighter pilots in the lafayette escadrille , the 124th air squadron formed by the french in 1916 . the squadron consisted of five french officers and 38 american volunteers who wanted to fly and fight in world war i during the main years of the conflict , 1914–1917 , before the united states later joined the war against the central powers . the film ends with an epilogue that relates each film character to the real - life lafayette escadrille figure on whom the movie was based .

we will show movies about world war i each friday in october . our first film will be all quiet on the western front . usmc veteran michael spatoro will lead a discussion immediately following the screening .

i ' m on the floor - - - which tarentino film is that from , fiv ? i ' ve always thought the screenplay of top goon had to have been written by some completely depraved hollywood screenwriters who deliberately wanted to make a military film with a tom of finland gay porn subplot - - - and succeeded beyond their wildest dreams . i ' d imagine the film is a gay classic just for all the near naked buff men . i ' ve always thought it was a joke from beginning to end - - - saw it one time , laughed my head off , and that was enough .

franco has great potential for this film . he ' s done well in dramas by first time directors - - just look at his role in the first film nicholas cage directed , " sonny . " his work in " city by the sea " showed he can work very well with mature , established ( okay . . old ) actors like robert deniro , so pairing him with jean reno makes sense .

title from container . originally released as a motion picture in 2006 . " based on a true story . " special features : audio commentary by director tony bill and producer dean devlin ; " real heros : the true story of the lafayette escadrille " featurette ; " life of a minature stunt pilot " featurette ; " whiskey and soda - the lion mascots " featurette ; " taking flight - the making of a flying sequence " ; " the real planes of flyboys " featurette ; deleted scenes ; theatrical trailer ; ' flyboys ' squadron dvd - rom game demo .

the real lafayette escadrille actually had a pair of lion cubs as mascots . one was indeed named " whiskey , " as in the film . the other , appropriately enough , was named " soda . "

academy award winner and notre dame graduate tony bill came back to his alma mater this weekend to screen his latest directorial effort “flyboys . ” bill has worked as an actor , director and producer over a four - decade career . his first major acting role was in the 1963 frank sinatra film “come blow your horn . ” after acting in several films , he switched to producing , and in 1973 produced the robert redford - paul newman classic “the sting , ” for which he won an oscar .

the film is gorgeous , and the producers clearly loved flying since the movie shows several types of bombers and even a zeppelin . unfortunately , the amazing aerial footage is not matched by the cliché - ridden screenplay .

naim shaw , actor , and janna williams , usaf veteran and coordinator of the union county office of the veteran success center , will read selections from world war i and america , and introduce the evening’s film .

more than 75 feature - length films have screened since the festival ' s inception in 2001 . some went on to box office success , some swept up awards at other film festivals , some were picked up by distributors and released on dvd and some quietly faded from public notice . here is a list of 10 notable films ( ordered by the year of screening ) that have met with success since appearing at the lds film festival .

hi all , the subject matter of this film had great potential but it was wasted urltoken us pilot eddie rickenbacker scored 26 kills in ww1 . urltoken in my opinion this film debases him and other us pilots who flew in this conflict . it also debases the german imperial pilots . there is no record or evidence of a ww1 german pilot straffing a british , french or american pilot on the ground . but what does hollywood care about history ? here ' s another link to the ' blue max ' film made in 1968 . . . nearly 40 years ago ! ! urltoken i suspect that cgi has degraded cinematic entertainment urltoken best regards , mb _ avro .

the deep end of the ocean is a film about a family ' s reaction when ben , the youngest son is kidnapped and then found nine years later , living in the same town , where his family had just moved .

full financial estimates for this film , including domestic and international box office , video sales , video rentals , tv and ancillary revenue are available through our research services . for more information , please contact us at research @ urltoken .

the film ' s script , written by steven a . lee and kevin lawrence king , is based on the stage play " sy ' s girl , " which was written by byu alumna natalie sado while she was an undergraduate .

< blockquote class = " ip - ubbcode - quote " > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - title " > quote : < / div > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - content " > originally posted by whiteladder : < blockquote class = " ip - ubbcode - quote " > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - title " > quote : < / div > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - content " > surpasses the bunk of that pathetic hollywood teen film : < / div > < / blockquote > i have to defend our american cousins on this one , because mephis belle is actually a british film . i was produced by david putnam and was financed , produced and filmed in britain . in fact i remeber a tv interview at the time with putnam where he came in for a bit of stick for making war film that didn ` t have british subject ( the film was partially financed with film council money ) . he quite rightly pointed out that as america was the largest market and there was no demand for a " british " war movie it would have been a flop and lost money . < / div > < / blockquote > original " memphis belle " was a documentary , and was pretty good for a war propaganda film . the later " re - make " was lame , and a real b - 17 was lost during the filming . that ' s way to high a price to pay for that lame pos . i found fly boys to be a film in need of more isle seats . i did not last 10 minutes . sergio

“the film industry is , in a lot of ways , a game of chance , ” said bill . “if you’re lucky enough to get a good hand , and you’re lucky or skillful enough to stick with it , you can succeed . ”

" saints and soldiers " was screened at the lds film festival in 2004 . it is one of the most commercially successful films to have been screened , with a theater gross of $ 1 , 310 , 470 , according to boxofficemojo . com .

they couldn ' t afford to cg even two different german planes , not even more than one skin for the one anachronism they did model and how many small , cheap details makes up for it ? the film should not have been made like that .

< blockquote class = " ip - ubbcode - quote " > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - title " > quote : < / div > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - content " > originally posted by whiteladder : < blockquote class = " ip - ubbcode - quote " > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - title " > quote : < / div > < div class = " ip - ubbcode - quote - content " > surpasses the bunk of that pathetic hollywood teen film : < / div > < / blockquote > i have to defend our american cousins on this one , because mephis belle is actually a british film . i was produced by david putnam and was financed , produced and filmed in britain . < / div > < / blockquote > i remember reading an interview at the time in which putnam said he had originally wanted to make a film of len deighton ' s book " bomber " , about a lancaster crew and their german opposition . however , the need to make a film that would appeal to the us market meant he had to go for the memphis belle instead . i ' m not sure what a film of bomber would have been like . the book is unrelentingly bleak and the part of the story that takes place on the ground in germany is pretty horrific . if he ' d followed the book it would have been a very different film without much of a positive message . cheers , rocketdog .

this was a cool film . i found it entertaining and informative . i did not know americans volunteered for the french flying corps during wwi . would like to see more films like this . like the billy bishop story . . just a thought . .

" my girlfriend ' s boyfriend " screened at the lds film festival in 2011 after its october 2010 limited theatrical release with an opening weekend per - screen average of $ 5 , 150 . its trailer has more than 1 . 2 million youtube views .

i didn ' t think flyboys was terrible . i was disappointed in the lame love story plot a la ph . . however i didn ' t watch it with high expectations to begin with . i knew it was going to be a film with more of an emphasis on " entertainment " rather than historical accuracy . so from that viewpoint i was actually able to enjoy it . memphis belle is enjoyable if you can let go of the hard nosed history buff persona and look at it from a different angle . mostly , a story depicting the type of hardships that bomber crews endured during missions over fortress europe .

we will show movies about world war i each friday in october . our second film will be war horse ( pg - 13 , 147 min ) – albert narracott enlists to serve in world war i after his beloved horse joey is sold to the cavalry .

subscribe to classic trailers : urltoken subscribe to trailers : urltoken subscribe to coming soon : urltoken like us on facebook : urltoken follow us on twitter : urltoken flyboys official trailer # 1 - james franco movie ( 2006 ) hd flyboys trailer - a group of young americans travel to france to become fighter pilots in the lafayette escadrille before the united states entered world war i . mgm - 2006 welcome to the fandango movieclips trailer vault channel . where trailers from the past , from recent to long ago , from a time before youtube , can be enjoyed by all . we search near and far for original movie trailer from all decades . feel free to send us your trailer requests and we will do our best to hunt it down .

what was so frustrating about ' flyboys ' was the number details they got right . such as the references to ' archie ' ( not aa or ack - ack ) , the leader ' s pennants which he removed to go solo hunting after a patrol ( very authentic ) and the airfield itself . it would have cost no more to get much more right .

just about everything in the video - gamey world war i picture " flyboys " rings false , although the planes certainly are terrific . the film takes a strong subject , the americans who volunteered for the french as aviators in the lafayette escadrille , and turns it into romantic slush . good thing jean reno ' s around to give it some flavor : as the real - life capt . thenault , the stalwart french actor goes about his expositional business with gruff panache . you believe this man exists in a 1916 universe . too many of the other , younger cast members are about as 1916 as " the o . c . "

this was an excellent movie about a part of the 1st world war that i didn ' t know about - the flimsy planes that they flew and fought in . a brilliant film and i ' m glad that someone decided to make this and honour those men .

needless to say , it was out of question to try to film dogfights with vintage planes that were almost a century old . to create the exciting confrontations , director tony bill turned to visual effects supervisor peter chiang and vfx producer fay mcconkey of double negative in london . we did more than 740 shots in total , chiang recalls . we started by previsualizing the battle sequences there were six of them . at the same time , we adapted our pipeline to the fact that flyboys was shot using the new genesis camera from panavision , a high - resolution 1920x1080 , full 10 - bit log color depth digital camera , designed to take panavision film camera lenses . all our images to date have been originated on film . so , the new camera system meant that we needed to create a completely new pipeline . first , the sony digital tapes were input through a sony srw1 tape deck retaining the digital quality that was captured . second , a new look up table was needed to view the images the correct way . response curves from panavision were given to us so we could work out the correct viewing system . the rest of the pipeline was also adapted to the new format .

fokker dr - 1 triplanes were never used in the great quantities seen in the film . the filmmakers used them because they were easily distinguished from the allied biplanes , and didn ' t want to leave viewers unsure as to who was on what side during these sequences .

" flyboys " is one of those movies that tends to generate more questions than answers . the basic story concerns the adventures of the lafayette escadrille , young american fighter pilots who volunteered for the french military before the u . s . entered wwi . after consulting various crystal balls , tea leaves , and psychic hotlines , we found few more details about the movie , though .

i admit i was a bit skeptical of the pre - movie hype , another “independent” film boasting the true grit realities of war , a movie steeped in fact , based on historical events . the world war i film appeared to have it all : strong plot and interesting subplots , on the edge of your seat action , drama sprinkled with humor , attractive actors who could actually act , breathtaking cinematography , and memorial soundtrack , and a lion ( if you just go to view the lion , the price of the movie is well spent ) .

hi all , just seen ' flyboys ' . what a pos ! cgi is a disgrace and the plot is worse . the best ww1 aviation movie imo was ' the blue max ' . this link mixes flyboy clips with the blue max . the blue max was made in 1966 and sets the bar as far as i ' m concerned . urltoken best regards , mb _ avro .

blaine is given a small bear which he carries as a good luck charm . this is a reference to the 1927 movie wings , the first ever film to win the academy award for best picture , in which a pilot also carries a small bear as a good luck charm .

although bill does not know what his next project will be , he hopes to direct another film and is searching for the right script . whatever he chooses , his history of critical acclaim will ensure his credibility and talent , whether or not his project is the next “the sting . ”

in " flyboys " director tony bill handles his aerial war well enough . the numerous dogfights , however , are so souped up with digitally composited imagery that the thrills and the machines themselves end up diminished . and do we need such gimmicks as shots of bombs plummeting toward earth , photographed from the weapons ' point of view ? leave that morally dubious nonsense to michael bay and " pearl harbor . "

this week at the movies , we’ve got antisocial behavior ( " jackass : number two , " with johnny knoxville and the gang ) , hell - raising politicos ( " all the king’s men , " starring sean penn ) , fearless warriors ( " fearless , " starring jet li ) , and flying aces ( " flyboys , " starring james franco ) . what do the critics have to say ?

in the scenes where the pilot crashes into no - mans - land , the germans soldiers are shown wearing spiked helmets . the germans abandoned these helmets in favor of the familiar trench helmets in mid - 1915 . they would not have been in use during the time portrayed in this film .

" all the king’s men " has everything that makes for a compelling movie . it’s got a great cast ( sean penn , jude law , kate winslet , and anthony hopkins , among others ) . it’s based on a great novel ( by robert penn warren ) . it’s got great cinematography . unfortunately , critics say , the superlatives end there . loosely based on the life of populist louisiana governor huey " the kingfish " long , " all the king’s men " tells the story of a small town rabble - rouser’s ascent in politics and descent into shady morality . critics say the film is too bombastic to work , with too many vague characters and an over - the - top performance from penn . the film received a muted reception in toronto ; it currently stands at 15 percent on the tomatometer . and it’s well below the 1949 oscar - winning original film ( 94 percent ) .

urltoken flyboys ( widescreen edition ) : james franco , jean reno , jennifer decker , scott hazell , mac mcdonald , philip winchester , todd boyce , karen ford , ruth bradley , abdul salis , jean - philippe écoffey , tim pigott - smith , tony bill , david brown , dean devlin , duncan reid , james clayton , blake t . evans , david s . ward , phil sears : movies & tv

i dont buy the ' people wouldnt go and see a movie that we would like ' ' bit . the blue max / battle of britain ( for the time ) / aces high / tora tora tora also saving private ryan / apolcalypse now / full metal jacket all great films . i believe all were succesful at the box office , and all will be far more successful than flyboys , i am sure .

of course , the flyboys would never have gotten off the ground without the outstanding group of fresh faces posing as the wwi pilots . in training for their parts , the actors all took to the air in the vintage aircraft and were filmed flying , bringing the movie’s realism to new heights . the young ensemble cast included new comers philip winchester , abdul salis , tyler labine , david ellison , and jennifer decker .

in “flyboys , ” as it happens , the explosions and scampering soldiers are genuine , though the zeppelin itself is a digital replication of a 30 - foot miniature . “we knew that we needed to do a real explosion with the randomness and chaos rather than a computer - generated explosion , which would have been too calculated and obvious , ” said peter chiang , the visual - effects supervisor who oversaw the scene .

the story about men in aerial combat explores themes of friendship , racial prejudice , revenge , and love . the film follows the enlistment , training , and combat experiences of a group of young americans who volunteer to become fighter pilots in the lafayette escadrille , the 124th air squadron formed by the french in 1916 .

this film could be the breakout that franco is looking for , just as " top gun " was for tom cruise . franco is about same age as cruise was he filmed " top gun , " and is in a similar place in his career . " top gun " propelled cruise into the upper reaches of stardom after his big break in " risky business " and decent roles in a few other movies . if it ' s any good at all , " flyboys " might give franco the same sort of boost after his big break in the " spiderman " franchise , nice reviews in a few other films , and some work on television ( including a 2002 emmy nomination for his work in the television movie , " james dean " ) .

urltoken flyboys ( two - disc collector ' s edition ) : james franco , jean reno , jennifer decker , scott hazell , mac mcdonald , philip winchester , todd boyce , karen ford , ruth bradley , abdul salis , jean - philippe écoffey , tim pigott - smith , tony bill , david brown , dean devlin , duncan reid , james clayton , blake t . evans , david s . ward , phil sears : movies & tv

the film seems awfully long , and is made much longer by our hero ' s improbable adventures that seem to require landing his aircraft in absurdly hazardous conditions to carry out daring do on the ground . the aerial combat , which is all cgi , is sometimes good , but mostly just too , well , cgi .

horrible movie . no respect for historical accuracy and as an action film was predictable and boring . the character names were historically correct and thats about it . not every german plane was a red tri - plane , there was only one of those . also , every character in real life actually smoked . revisionist crap .

in its opening minutes the script of " flyboys " sets some sort of record for captioned scene - setters . first we ' re in aberdeen , texas , meeting our hero , dispossessed hunky rancher blaine rawlings ( james franco ) . ten seconds later in lincoln , neb . , we meet another future flyboy ( philip winchester ) and as he waves farewell to his love , the lady in question executes her contractually stipulated trot alongside the train .

dean devlin and marc frydman are the producers , and they pulled together a reported $ 60 million budget for the film . devlin was a producer for " stargate , " " godzilla , " " independence day , " " the patriot , " and " cellular . " all of these movies seem to fall on the " pearl harbor " end of the spectrum , but frydman was behind " boiling point , " " nil by mouth , " " the contender , " and most recently , " the jacket . " so frydman seems to favor films falling the gap between art - house flick and cineplex mainstay . perhaps the direction " flyboys " takes will depend on a devlin / frydman cage match . or do you think they ' d prefer mud - wrestling ?

digital design in the early phases of a project increasingly opens the door to digital techniques in actual production , even with films that seem to be steeped in the grit of real life . on last year’s skateboarding film “lords of dogtown , ” for example , mr . chaintreuil assisted the filmmakers in building a pier in san diego .

the most famous of his directorial efforts is the 1980 matt dillon film “my bodyguard , ” a coming - of - age high school story about two unlikely friends . bill noted that he wanted “my bodyguard” to be a more realistic portrait of high school life , eschewing typical comedic clichã©s in favor of a more character - oriented approach .

to be honest , the film is not about the real lafayette escadrille , it is just a generic wwi aviation film that happens to feature americans fighting for france . cassidy is the squadron commanding officer because every single other veteran is dead , which is ridiculous . it gets worse . meeting the new recruits for the first time , the veteran cassidy informs them that their life expectancy is three to six weeks . the lafayette escadrille took losses , but it was not the suicide squad . i suspect that there are no other experienced pilots in the squadron other than cassidy because the script focuses on the young stars , and experienced pilots would have distracted from the young heroes’ story .

today i received an email from a friend who is not a very critical film viewer . he and his wife saw f last night . he thought it was stupid , idiotic , and grossly inferior to the blue max , and he isn ' t even a wwi flying buff . thought it was something for the children , not for adults .

during the air battles you see in flyboys , the french and english are in biplanes , and the germans are in bright red triplanes . this is so you , the viewer , can easily tell who are the good guys and who the bad guys are . however , most of the planes that the germans used were biplanes , not triplanes . as for the bright red paintjobs , not all of their triplanes were like that . you may know that the red baron flew a bright red triplane . this is to identify him as the leader of his squadron , and to identify him as an ace fighter pilot . the red baron also flew biplanes with a red finish , not only triplanes . making the good guys and bad guys easily recognizable in flyboys makes a better movie , because if everyone was flying biplanes the viewer might get confused . the viewers are lucky compared to wwi pilots . the pilots of wwi did not have the luxury of an enemy that only flew in bright red triplanes .

you forgot one thing about the " based on true events " disclaimer . through the film , you never see the french actually engage the enemy in the air , they stay on the ground and send the yanks off to fight . . . this in my opinion was not only true but quite accurate of the french , even by todays standards . . .

yet , an hour into the film , i could hardly wait for it to end . i had an uncontrollable urge to not only research the young american wwi pilots dubbed the knights of the air . . . but an even stronger desire to find out how many of the aerial dogfights were performed by actual vintage airplanes , and how many scenes were computer generated .

iâ´ve read all posts . . . and i only have to say . . . pearl harbor and flyboys are simply a piece of s * * t . an completeñy nonsense of planes trying to bite the tail to others and making anoying imposible maneuvers . the â´human storyâ´ , as someone said here are simply an stupid teen question . simply a piece of * * * * . sorry for my bad languaje . . . . but i wasted money in the cinema for both . vista suerte y al toro .

yet mr . haye , who is working on david fincher’s new orleans - based period film , “the curious case of benjamin button” — a project that uses only digital set designers — envisions a time when the entire field will be transformed by computer technology . mr . haye said , “with every production designer i work with , we move a little further in that direction . ”

without question , the non - humanoid stars of flyboys were the vintage aircraft . with each trip into battle , the planes took on specific personalities as they struggled to outfight and out fly each other . i too struggled trying to differentiate between computer generated imagery and the real deal . with the exception of the zeppelin encounter , it was impossible to distinguish reality from computer generation . the director delivered on his promise of putting the audience in the pilot’s cockpit . every aerial scene was an on the edge of your seat experience !

this film depicts the life and experiences of emma hale smith ( katherine nelson ) , including her childhood with a father who disliked religion , her courtship and marriage to joseph smith ( nathan mitchell ) , her life as the wife of the prophet and what happened following joseph ' s martyrdom . written and directed by gary cook . rated pg for mild thematic elements and brief violence .

veteran artist program - “vap takes artists who are also veterans , and propels their works and careers into the mainstream creative arts community…we are based in new york city but are currently creating programming across the country to expand the network and visibility of veteran artists . vap focuses on : visual arts , performing arts , writing / literature , film / video , and new / interactive media . ”

but drafting such ordinary places in 3 - d had its advantages , particularly as the physical sets required digital extensions to make them larger . mr . haye noted that tom duffield , the production designer of “the kingdom , ” had never worked with a digital set designer before , so mr . haye wound up on the project for nearly a year , as digital work seeped into the film .

the anti aircraft artillery shown in use by the germans was not of any type used by any side in the first world war , nor was anti aircraft fire nearly as effective or accurate as shown . were any of the portrayed shell bursts as close as they appeared in the film , they would have instantly destroyed the aircraft with the combination of the explosive power , fire , and shrapnel .

mr . chaintreuil , who began working in film with models and miniatures , said there were two levels of digital set designers . some “purely use the computer as a drafting tool , which means they’re basically computer drafters , ” he said . “then digital set designers like myself get called in to do the incredible or the impossible . we get brought in to do crazy surfaces and things you just wouldn’t imagine . ”

the flyboys ’ plot revolves around a handful of brash idealistic americans known as the lafayette escadrille . these brave young men volunteered their services , and often their lives , to fight alongside the french , as novice pilots in wwi . reinventing 1917 france was not an easy endeavor , especially on a shoestring budget . it called for innovative and dedicated movie enthusiasts , like director tony bill and writers phil sears , blake t . evans , and david s . ward , who filmed the movie on the 300 , 000–acre stanford training area in britain , with a cast of virtually unknowns .

jet li has come to personify a specific film subgenre : the historical martial arts epic . " hero " and the " once upon a time in china " movies were marked by sweeping visuals and li’s remarkable athleticism . but the star says he’s no longer making that type of picture ; if that’s the case , critics say " fearless " makes for one heck of a swan song . the film tells the tale of a great martial arts master who looks inward after succumbing to his own ego and the murder of his family . the scribes say " fearless " is quite a show , with remarkable action sequences and an interesting philosophical undercurrent . " fearless " is currently at 70 percent on the tomatometer . and it’s li’s third consecutive fresh american release , following " unleashed " ( 68 percent ) and " hero " ( 94 percent ) .

flyboys was made early in james franco’s career , and he was not ready to play the lead . nor is he believable as a bad boy . however , the writers did their best to give rawlins as many opportunities to be heroic as possible . learning that the germans have penetrated french territory , rawlings makes a nighttime flight to evacuate lucienne , who had chosen to be rescued by the hero , instead of simply leaving with the rest of the refugees . the escape from the germans who have taken over her house is probably supposed to be thrilling , but it is merely blah .

our third film will be in love and war ( pg - 13 , 115 min ) – the epic love story about ernest hemingway and the romance which inspired him to write his masterpiece a farewell to arms . a story of desperate love and imminent danger , it chronicles the relationship between the 18 - year old hemingway and agnes von kurowsky , the medical aide who nursed him back to health after a devastating battlefield injury .