Motherland Afghanistan

Following three decades of war, Afghanistan currently has the second highest infant and maternal mortality rates in the world. In MOTHERLAND AFGHANISTAN, Afghan-American filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi journeys to her native country for the first time in over 30 years. Her purpose is to document the work of her father, obstetrician/gynecologist Qudrat Mojadidi, as he struggles to change this tragic statistic for mothers and newborns in Afghanistan. Since the 1980s, Dr. Mojadidi has been risking his life to aid refugee women on the Afghan border. In 2003, after the U.S. government promises support, Dr. Mojadidi travels within the country both to tend to patients and, more importantly, to educate the severely under-trained staff at Kabul's Rabia Balkhi Hospital. Still, dirty facilities, a lack of supplies, and unfulfilled government promises leave his mission nearly impossible. But he is not to be deterred. Sedika Mojadidi's documentary about her father and her homeland is both emotional and intelligent, both heartbreaking and hopeful. (In English and Dari with English subtitles) – E.J.B.