Son Of A Lion

Running Time: 92 Minutes
Rating: PG

In 2004 and 2005, Sydney-based writer/director Benjamin Gilmour left his job as a film-set medic in London, traveling undercover into the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan, to the forbidden gun-manufacturing village of Darra Adam Khel. In a narrow valley bordering Afghanistan, Darra is home to the Adam Khel Afridis, a clan who have been making weapons for as long as anyone can remember.

With the help of locals there, and in the nearby town of Kohat, Gilmour shot the film SON OF A LION independently, despite extraordinary risks in an area where even local journalists are barred and where cameras are confiscated by authorities. He developed the screenplay in conjunction with non-professional actors, inhabitants of the main location Darra Adam Khel and members of the Pashtun people. This has resulted in authentic dialogues and scenes that afford the viewer a rare glimpse into the region, both profoundly socio-cultural and political.

SON OF A LION tells the story of eleven-year-old Niaz who lives with his father in a small town in northwest Pakistan, where for generations the local population have earned their living by producing weapons. It would seem that this is what the future holds for Niaz. But Niaz has different ambitions, and dreams of being allowed to go to school. His longing for an education marks Niaz as an outsider amongst the other young people within his community. And when finally, he refuses to follow in his father's footsteps, pent-up conflicts erupt within his family.

WARRIOR POETS, by Benjamin Gilmour, the book which tells the story behind the making of this incredible film, is now available from PIER 9 (Murdoch Books) http://www.murdochbooks.com.au/warriorpoets.htm

SEASON COMMENCES 21 AUGUST

Sher Alam Afridi and his son Niaz live in the wild passes of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan. Niaz never knew his mother as she died when he was an infant, leaving Sher Alam his sole parent. Like most men in the village of Darra, Sher Alam has a workshop making weapons, ranging from small arms to the ubiquitous AK47. He expects that one day Niaz will take over the family business, just as he did from his own father.

Niaz is 11 years old and works each day with Sher Alam in the workshop, learning his trade and running errands. But Niaz is bored with the daily routine and doesn't have an affinity with his father's craft. His uncle Baktiyar who lives in the capital Peshawar has been talking about Niaz enrolling in school for years and that is what Niaz also wants, but Sher Alam is vehemently opposed to the idea. What was good enough for Sher Alam and his father before him is surely good enough for Niaz.

Bullied by an older boy Pite and unable to confront his father about going to school, Niaz becomes frustrated and despondent. He receives a letter from his cousin but, unable to read it himself, he goes to his friend Agha Jaan the poet who lives in an Afghan refugee camp. Agha Jaan tells Niaz that his cousin from Peshawar is coming to visit. Surprised that Niaz cannot read, Agha Jaan gently chides Niaz about his lack of schooling. Meanwhile, the men of the village gather to discuss the wider world over tea. Word of the conflict between Niaz and Sher Alam has spread and the conversation turns to education much to the shame of Sher Alam who believes the entire village is casting judgement on him.

Niaz is sent to Peshawar for a dental appointment. Surviving the dentist Niaz enjoys the big city including his first ever visit to the cinema and a meeting with the boys at a local school, organised by his uncle. Back in Darra tension builds between father and son, and when Pite is badly injured by a falling bullet the situation reaches crisis point.

In the aftermath both father and son are able to see each other more clearly and Sher Alam finally asks Niaz how long it will take to learn to read and write.

Benjamin, what inspired you to make the film?

My motive to make this film was not in fact because I wanted to make a film at all. Instead it was to try to balance-out the perception people in the West have of Muslims as a whole after the events of September 11. The way I saw it, on that day, a major religion and more than a billion people around the world who followed it had been side-swiped. Being a great admirer of film, I thought this would be an excellent way to make a contribution to opposing Islamophobia, because many ordinary people around the world simply do not have any experience of Muslim people beyond the evening news.

Although the Pashtuns featured in SON OF A LION have no direct link with al Qaeda, former members of the Taliban do appear in the film. I never feared any of these people, because they were on my side. They trusted that my motive was to give the West an insight into the world of the ethnic Pashtun.

How was the experience of shooting the film?

The tribal area in which SON OF A LION was shot, especially the gun-market of Darra Adam Khel, is completely out of bounds to foreigners and no permits have been issued to journalists or travelers for a number of years. Due to the risk of being caught by the Pakistan Army, the tribal police known as khasadars, many of whom are also Inter-services Intelligence (ISI) agents, and the local police, I had to shoot much of the film undercover. SON OF A LION is pure, guerrilla filmmaking. Besides the risk of being sprung by the authorities, the extremists in the area, including the new Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants, may well have mistaken me for a foreign spy and dealt with me accordingly. Cultural barriers also existed, such as the common opinion that all Western filmmakers want to do is exploit women, an opinion probably informed by the effect the access to MTV and internet porn is having on the conservative peoples of the region.

So it was necessary to find relatively safe places such as inside walled compounds, empty mountainsides and valleys to shoot many of the longer scenes with dialogue. This minimized the number of scenes we needed to shoot in the actual Darra bazaar.

For safety reasons, we shot on a small mini-DV camera - we're talking Sony PD150 - to limit the chance of detection. This is a limitation cinematically, but I think the observational 'documentary' feel adds to the film's authenticity. In saying that, I am not apologising for the fact that the picture resolution is different to a film shot on glorious Kodak 35mm. No-one, no matter how big and powerful the studio behind them, could have shot in Pakistan's tribal areas on filmstock with the necessary crew to get good results. Just ask those who made THE KITE RUNNER - that film was shot in China. The fact is, we are lucky to have this film at all. It is the only feature film of its kind to come out of the tribal areas of the frontier in as long as anyone can remember.

For more information on the film SON OF A LION, the soundtrack to SON OF A LION, and to view the film's trailer, see the website: www.sonofalion.com