simple: there were many hurdles and precautions but, by August 2002, I’d made it to Bamiyan. As soon as I arrived, I simply wandered to the caves and, with my fixer Sami Sharaf, started talking to people. Amazingly the very first person I met on the paths from cave to cave was Deljam who I immediately took a liking to - and the film shows why. Within a few days I had decided both to focus on one strip of caves (a handful out of the hundreds) and, more importantly, one small boy. Fortunately all those I thought were interesting or important were willing to be filmed - including, of course, Mir. Some simply because I asked. Some to help tell their story. Some in the hope that they would benefit financially in some way.

3. Why did you pick Mir as the central figure in the film?

This was the key decision. Who would be the central driving force of the film? I knew - or felt - that it would be tough for an adult (talking primarily about the past) to hold an audience's attention for 90 or 100 minutes. I needed someone who was active in some way and most of the adults were not. It's the nature of their lives that they are stuck in a situation of passivity. Someone like Deljam was the closest to a central character in my opinion because he was clearly full of energy and life. But for me a child was more appealing. Partly because I knew