FRONTRUNNER
A woman's heroic run for the Presidency of Afghanistan.
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It's a story much of the world doesn't know--yet.
It's Afghanistan's first democratic election-ever. In the aftermath
of 9/11, America's military might has set the stage. But who
will determine the fate of democracy in Afghanistan?
"Vote
for the mother," Dr. Massouda Jalal shouts to the crowd. FRONTRUNNER tells the heroic story of this medical doctor and mother of three. As a children's advocate, she defied the murderous
Taliban regime. Now, she boldly runs for President-- the only
woman in a field of 17 candidates. In a dramatic turn of
events, she holds the fate of the country's first Presidential election--in
her own hands.
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In FRONTRUNNER, we see citizen leaders--women and men --decide the fate of
democracy. Amidst bomb attacks, campaigning from the back of taxis, in
Mosques, in homes, in busy markets and in the streets- - Dr. Jalal's effort shows the dangerous work done by ordinary people who risk their
lives.
Director Virginia Williams, Emmy Award - winning producer of documentaries for Discovery Channel, PBS, and National Geographic, and Co-Proucer Halima Kazem, award-winning Afghan American reporter for Christian Science Monitor and the LA Times, tell the story. They began filming in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. Academy Award-winning cinematographer Gary Keith Griffin has captured over two hundred hours of extraordinary footage. Executive Producer Rory O'Connor is best known for producing hard-hitting documentaries on important global topics. [www.globalcenter.org]
Where does one woman's courage lead? Imagine more
than 300 women running for Congress across America. As The Washington Post reported on its front page, more than five hundred women ran for Parliament across Afghanistan. This despite death threats,
hijackings and a bounty offered for killing female candidates.
The filmmakers of FRONTRUNNER capture the story.
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Project
Status
FRONTRUNNER is currently in post production. A rough-cut of the film will be completded March 2007.
Where
will this film be seen? Our venues are networks and theaters
around the world - to inspire women to emerge, to run for
office, and to join men as the national leaders they were born
to be.
For if it can happen in Afghanistan
Please
join the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,
Rockefeller Philanthropy, the Independent Television Service, and
the Tides Foundation in support of completing FRONTRUNNER. As a nonprofit effort, grants &
contributions are tax-deductible via our fiscal sponsor, The Global Center, NY.
The filmmakers are still in critical need of completion funding. Please email Virginia Williams to find out how you can make a contribution: virginia@newviewfilms.tv
Also made
possible by Afghan Women Leaders CONNECT (www.afghanwomenconnect.org]Duplication generously provided by Video
Labs, Rockville, MD (www.videolabs.net)
Editing and Post Production Services provided by ARTiFACT, Buenos Aires. |
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For a full list of credits, visit our Cast of Characters page.
Rory O'Connor, Executive
Producer
Rory O'Connor is President, Chief
Executive Officer and co-founder of the international film and
television production company Globalvision, Inc, and its
subsidiary Globalvision New Media, as well as President and
Board Chairman of The Global Center, an affiliated non-profit
educational foundation. He has directed, written and produced
numerous documentary films and television programs, and served
as Executive Producer of Globalvision's two acclaimed weekly
television series, South Africa Now and Rights &
Wrongs: Human Rights Television. His work has received
considerable professional recognition, including a George
Polk Award, a Writer's Guild Award, two Emmies, an Iris, a
Cine Gold Eagle, and many others. O'Connor's most recent
films examine the effects of poverty and of globalization
around the world, economic reforms and human rights in China,
and the origins of ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia. The
Global Center is the fiscal sponsor for FRONTRUNNER.
For more information about Globalvision,
please visit www.globalvision.org
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