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Reel Afghanistan is the first Festival of Cinema and Culture in the UK and opens this week in Edinburgh. It runs from 21 - 28 Feb 2008. One of the events you can see at the festival is Nafas which is based on the work I did in Kabul in September 2007. 

Nafas means Breath in Dari.

What's Behind Nafas
In September 2007, my husband Christopher and I (Annemette Verspeak) packed our bags, said goodbye to our house and cat, and got on a plane to Kabul. Our initial aim was to deliver a series of workshops aimed at redeveloping self-confidence in Afghan women.

Along the way we also found time to deliver singing lessons at a circus school, give speech therapy to children affected by war, meet the people who run a shelter for abused women, deliver blankets to an orphanage, visit the first ever mosque in Kabul and party with a Kabuli rock band. 

We will be giving a presentation of photos and videos from our trip, answering questions, and giving advice on fund-raising and preparations for anyone interested in travelling to Afghanistan.

Besides Nafas, there are films, discussions, concerts of Afghan music, exhibitions, photography and other events.  To see the range on offer go to Reel Afghanistan programme.

The festival is a celebration of Afghan culture and arts. It is an initiative of Education Through Art, which aims to create an educational and artistic dialogue between Afghanistan and the UK.

For more information about Reel Afghanistan, contact: info@reelafghanistan.org