The Giant Buddhas

In February 2001, six months before the attacks on the Twin Towers, the Taliban issued a decree calling for the destruction of all non-Islamic-related statues in Afghanistan. Despite resounding outrage from the international community, the world lost two of its most magnificent landmarks. A pair of enormous stone Buddhas, hewn from the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan Valley more than 1,600 years ago, was blown to bits by Islamic fundamentalists. With the destruction of the giant Buddhas as his springboard, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Christian Frei (War Photographer) has crafted a luminous cinematic tapestry that entwines multiple narrative threads. Stunningly photographed by Peter Indergand, this thoughtprovoking documentary reveals the consequences of religious fanaticism as it exposes the hypocrisy of global indignation. With pulsing immediacy, Frei essentially collapses time. He retraces the steps of a Chinese monk who visited the Buddhas centuries ago, juxtaposing that journey with his own trip to Afghanistan and that of a modern-day woman from Toronto, who fulfills a lifelong dream to visit Bamiyan, important place for her father. The Giant Buddhas is a stirring example of the power of cinema to enlighten as it defies the boundaries of culture and time. (©SUNDANCE FILMFESTIVAL)