Movie on Skateboarding in Afghanistan wins Oscar

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: An Afghan movie, “Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),” has won the Oscar for best documentary short subject at the 92nd annual Academy Awards.

On February 3, the movie has also won the British Short Film award at this year’s Bafta Film Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

The movie was directed by Carol Dysinger, a US documentary filmmaker, and produced by Elena Andreicheva, a British documentary filmmaker based in London.

Skateistan provides outreach to Afghan kids from impoverished neighborhoods, and with disabilities. From Kabul, the organization has expanded into several other countries.

According to Skateistan’s website, the program has reached “over 1,500 children and youth each week in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa, with more than 40% girls taking part in programs.”

Carol Dysinger has been a feature film and documentary editor for the past 25 years. She made the feature-length documentary “Camp Victory, Afghanistan,” which is about the Afghan National Army and its partnering with US forces, which premiered at SXSW film festival in 2010.

The film has also been nominated for an Oscar.

Other nominees for best documentary short subject were “In the Absence”, “Life Overtakes Me”, “St. Louis Superman” and “Walk Run Cha-Cha.” (TOLOnews)