“[CSFilm] put cameras in the hands of Afghans and gave them training to make films about their lives. The result is an unprecedented intimate look at Afghan life with exchanges no outsider has been privy to before.”  – Robin Young, host of NPR’s Here and Now

In a climate where the mainstream American media typically reports international news from an American perspective, can locally-told stories help us to better understand current events?

In the interest of amplifying the voices and expertise of Afghans, Community Supported Film conducted an intensive 5-week training of 10 Afghan women and men in documentary production in 2010. A collection of ten remarkable short films, The Fruit of Our Labor, was produced during the training. Community Supported Film founder and director Michael Sheridan will present a screening of these films and will discuss how stories told by Afghans themselves can augment our understanding of Afghanistan and positively influence our decision making abilities.

Going beyond battlefront war reporting, these films take on pressing contemporary issues not covered by western media, such as the effects of heroine addiction on Afghan families, the flash floods and dangerous droughts that threaten most Afghans more than insurgent attacks, and the choices women make negotiating healthcare and birth control without functioning maternity clinics. Of the ten films, 7 focus on women and women’s issues – four of which were filmed and directed by Afghan women.

Working for an Afghanistan that is not abandoned and left to survive another humanitarian crisis, CSFilm seeks to raise awareness of the plight and agency of Afghans, and instigate a conversation about the immediate and long-term future of Afghanistan.

Inspired by the model of Community Supported Agriculture, Community Supported Film applies the principle of investing directly in people on the ground to support the production of high quality films from a local perspective. The resulting products help nourish a complex understanding of the world that isn’t available in the mainstream media marketplace.