1. What made you decide to make this film?

Obviously Afghanistan has been in the news for years but the pivotal moment for me was July 1st 2002 when I read of an erroneous attack by the US air force on an Afghan wedding party. While reading the heart-wrenching story of the dead and wounded - can you imagine such a thing on your wedding day? - I became determined to find out more about who were the Afghans and how, post-Taliban, they were living. But I knew that I had to find an individual story that would drive the film. I wanted to find someone about who a film was in itself worthy but also, through whom, we could learn about life for 'ordinary' Afghans.

2. How did you convince the people in the film to be involved?

Simple, I asked them. Before deciding to make a cinema feature, I had been approached to make a one-hour television film about the possible reconstruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan. For me, that wasn't the story: the story was those people who, I discovered, lived alongside the destroyed statues. I did my research and then simply packed my bags and headed off. Actually it wasn't that