Conflict between cultural preservation and economic opportunity.

A multi awarded documentary film directed by Brent Huffman, in 2016, 60 minutes, English.

Monday 17 March at 5:30

AUB Archaeological Museum

Tickets sold at 300,000 LBP.

In the presence of the film director.

Followed by a Q&A.

About the film:

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.

The film 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.