ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
A young Afghan-Kiwi couple journey from New Zealand to Afghanistan to change 51 lives, including their own, in honor of those killed in a terrorist attack in their home town of Christchurch.

SYNOPSIS
Shocked into action by the massacre of 51 people in their community in the Christchurch mosque attacks in 2019, Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi are flying to Afghanistan to change the lives of some of Kabul’s most desperate people. FIFTYONE is an inspiring feature documentary told through the eyes of Bariz and Saba using personal interviews and their own footage filmed over three months in Afghanistan.

Before leaving New Zealand they raised money to initiate 51 micro-businesses in honour of those martyred in Christchurch. With determination and tenacity Bariz and Saba gain incredible intimate access to the lives of their fund recipients. These people’s stories weave together with their own private story, exposing hardship and loss while sharing the dramatic positive changes micro-businesses can bring.

Powerful archive footage shows the war-torn and dangerous edge of Afghanistan, yet Saba and Bariz’s camera finds heart-wrenching emotion and beauty too, showing a side of Kabul that is rarely seen.

Bariz and Saba’s personal anguish is uncovered as they bring together their first and third world lives, and there are limits to what they can achieve. They feel they belong to neither Afghanistan nor New Zealand. Through honest interviews they reveal their family history, inner thoughts and difficult past as refugees.

As the film ends they return to New Zealand changed in their own lives too with the birth of their first child in late 2020. They go forward into the future as determined as ever to use their positive energy for good.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Feature

DIRECTOR Vanessa Wells, Bariz Shah, Saba Afrasyabi
PRODUCER Virginia Wright
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Jill Macnab
CO-PRODUCER Saba Afrasyabi, Bariz Shah
IMPACT PRODUCER Tamar Munch

WEBSITE fiftyonefilm.org