Welcome to POV .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of
Wisconsin Public Television's Director's Cut .
Tonight we bring you a film Variety Magazine calls
a perilous escape story in the documentary "Midnight Traveler."
In "Midnight Traveler," Afghan director Hassan Fazili
becomes his own leading man.
His wife and two young daughters
round out a reluctant supporting cast
as they become refugees and flee Afghanistan for their lives.
They embark on a harrowing journey that puts their lives at risk
as well as their relationships with each other,
as they seek asylum from the Taliban.
What is so gripping about many documentary films
is the insight we get into a world we are not familiar with.
Documentary filmmakers bring the grit and struggle
of the world they inhabit while filming
to the comfort of our living rooms
where we as viewers witness the danger at a safe distance
through their lens.
Rarely however, do film directors
face such perilous circumstances
that they have a bounty placed on them.
Such is the case with Fazili.
Like many documentary filmmakers,
Fazili is as much an activist as he is a director.
His projects champion the rights of women,
children and the disabled in Afghanistan.
Despite he and his family being in grave danger
throughout the making of his latest film,
Fazili still thought like a director
saying, "The harder life was for us,
"the stronger the images were."
"Midnight Traveler" starts now on Wisconsin Public Television,
your home for independent film.