without causing some impact. The question is what is that impact and does the film still reflect the reality of the situation as you the film-maker understand it? I think, however, the most significant impact I had was to alleviate their boredom - one has always to remember how few options they have on a day to day basis. I have a thousand things I could do in a day - they have ten, twenty, thirty. It is a remarkably salutary realisation. So a film-maker among them is of great interest and great fun. Of course over time, the interest wears off and one has to allow oneself to be dull, to sit quietly in corners and not participate - and also to ensure the fixer does the same. I think I also have to acknowledge that I substantially reduced the likelihood of them dying of starvation. Ultimately no-one, to my knowledge, died that winter of hunger. But the assistance I gave was a safety net that probably ensured Mir's survival - if indeed that was ever really in doubt. I know also that my badgering of Abdul to send Mir to school had an impact - before my arrival, he and Khoshdel had simply not thought it that important. Perhaps therefore I changed the story but if I did, I'm pleased to have done so: their lives are ultimately far more important than my film.

6. Did anything surprise you about the people you met in Bamiyan?

I have been lucky to have travelled fairly extensively. In doing so, I have