Podcast appearances and mentions of hassan fazili

After being threatened by the Taliban, filmmaker Hassan Fazili was forced to flee Afghanistan. Like thousands of others, he and his family set out for Europe seeking safety and a stable life.

After being threatened by the Taliban, filmmaker Hassan Fazili was forced to flee Afghanistan. Like thousands of others, he and his family set out for Europe seeking safety and a stable life. What follows is a two-year odyssey that Fazili, wife Fatima Hussaini, and their two daughters carefully documented on video with their phones. From negotiating with people smugglers to hiding in abandoned buildings and being beaten by Bulgarian nationalists, the new documentary "Midnight Traveler" highlights the cruelty and capriciousness of the European Union's asylum system – and a family's strength to persevere. On this special edition of Global Journalist, a look at this remarkable film and an extended interview with producer and writer Emelie Mahdavian. After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the film screened at the 2019 True/False Film Festival and became one of the most widely-lauded documentaries of the year. Note: This program originally aired March 28, 2019

We're back with episode #2 and this week we are talking about borders. Filmmakers Emelie Mahdavian and Su Kim join MacKenzie in the studio to talk about their latest film, Midnight Traveler. Midnight Traveler is a documentary where Afghan director Hassan Fazili is forced to flee the country when the Taliban puts a bounty on his head. We go in deep about the difference between an asylum seeker and a refugee, check out how easy it is to move data over government lines, and check in with our friend, the cinereous vulture.

In 2015, after Hassan Fazili’s documentary Peace in Afghanistan aired on Afghan national television, the Taliban assassinated the film’s main subject and put a price on Fazili’s head. Fearing for their survival, the Fazili family fled Kabul for Tajikistan. Yet after 14 months spent submitting asylum applications that were rejected again and again, they were deported back to Afghanistan. It was at this juncture that Fazili picked up his cell phone and hit the record button and with that Midnight Traveler began to take shape. Chronicling every step from inside the action, Fazili, his filmmaker wife, and their young daughters trek across Iran, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Serbia—scurrying through perilous landscapes, huddling in freezing forests, cramming into rattling vehicles. As they endure smugglers, gangs, and refugee camps, the camera witnesses not only the danger and desperation but also the exuberance and tenderness of this irresistible, loving family. For Fazili, framing their story becomes an assertion of control, humanity, and self-expression in a situation where none exists. With its radical subjectivity, visceral footage, and poetic form, Midnight Traveler is a migration story like no other. Producer Su Kim and Producer / writer / editor Emilie Mahdavian join us for a look at at Hassan and his remarkably resilient family as they attempt to overcome institutional and deadly political obstacles in their fight for freedom as seen through the eyes of his children, Zahra and Nargis and wife, Fatima. A fight for freedom that they have to win. For news and updates go to: midnighttraveler.oscilloscope.net For news and screening information go to: midnighttravelerfilm.com Social Media: facebook.com/oscopelabs twitter.com/oscopelabs instagram.com/oscopelabs

“Midnight Traveler” tells the harrowing story of Afghani director Hassan Fazili and his family's displacement as filmed on their cell phones.

Our pairing of devious doppelgängers arrives at Jordan Peele’s new US, which brings into 2019 some of the same themes of paranoia and dread seen in one of its many predecessors, Philip Kaufman’s INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS. After comparing our reactions to US’s “messy by design” narrative and the conversations that have sprung up around it, we bring these two films together to compare how they reflect their respective eras, how each works as horror, and the weird character relationships that underscore the human drama behind the allegory. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar. Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS, US, or anything else in the world of film by sending an email to comments@nextpictureshow.net, or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. *Show Notes* Works cited: • Unpacking Reddit’s Wildest Theory About US, by Rebecca Alter (Vulture.com) • What Was Hands Across America, and What Does It Have to Do With US?, by Keith Phipps (Slate.com) Your Next Picture Show:  • Scott: Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert’s AMERICAN FACTORY, Rachel Leads’ KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE, and Hassan Fazili’s MIDNIGHT TRAVELER • Tasha: The IMMUNITIES podcast, and Terry Gilliam’s THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE • Keith: Steve Mitchell’s KING COHEN, and Larry Cohen’s THE STUFF and GOD TOLD ME TO Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emelie Mahdavian is the writer, editor and producer of this year's True Life Fund recipient "Midnight Traveler," showing at True False 2019. The film is directed by film-maker Hassan Fazili, who documented his own family's journey from Afghanistan as they fled the Taliban. Fazili shot the entire film on three cell phones. In this conversation, host Allison Coffelt talks with Mahdavian about the film's revelations on the asylum process, the nature of family and the elusiveness of happy endings.

Emelie Mahdavian is the writer, editor and producer of this year's True Life Fund recipient "Midnight Traveler," showing at True False 2019. The film is directed by film-maker Hassan Fazili, who documented his own family's journey from Afghanistan as they fled the Taliban. Fazili shot the entire film on three cell phones. In this conversation, host Allison Coffelt talks with Mahdavian about the film's revelations on the asylum process, the nature of family and the elusiveness of happy endings.