A thought provoking journey through post-war Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of the Dutch peacekeeping force.
A joint venture with Vik Franke (Big River), NCRV, RNTV and Marijke Jongbloed 90 min., Digital High Definition.		  
 

SMILE&WAVE is a cinematographic journey through post-war Afghanistan as seen through the eyes of the Dutch peacekeeping force. "Misterrr, misterrr, how'r'you, how'r'you!": laughing and waving children barely conceal the fact that Dutch soldiers on a peacekeeping mission are confronted daily with a surrealistic landscape imprinted with violence, hatred and fundamentalism.

Without any prior war experience, the peacekeepers are cast into a chaotic post-war setting featuring rocket-propelled missile attacks, a successful suicide assault, and a student demonstration in which the local police fire on and kill at least seven Afghan contemporaries.



    
The ISAF mandate is limited. The peacekeeping force operates exclusively in Kabul, whereby the local authorities retain full power over the security situation. The Second-in-command of the peacekeeping brigade, Colonel Oude Lohuis, is confronted with an extremely shadowy situation: "We know that quite a number of the daily threats (including rocket-propelled missile attacks) are initiated by the Afghan security community itself - the secret services, the police and the army - for no other reason than to commit ISAF to staying here."

Private Eggink(18): "When I came here, I actually left my youth behind…" Shortly before his departure for Kabul, Eggink discovered that his seventeen-year old girlfriend was pregnant. By the end of the mission, the young man from the staunch little protestant village of Staphorst quips; "I've started questioning the fundamental value of religion...as far as I can see it's brought about nothing but war and misery".

SMILE&WAVE Sergeant Winus Dorenbos, commander of the Alfa Group, has begun to question his orders to project the image of a friendly, non-occupying force by 'smiling and waving' at the local population. After being called back from the escalating student uprising, he reflects; "We should have fucking been there. We're too scared to do anything - we're too scared to make decisions, and we're too scared to take risks. It's Srebrenica all over again. The Dutch are the champions of the world when it comes to making compromises..."



So it's always a problem with their husbands? That's the reason they're all here?" Warrant-officer Rijken is incredulous when, during a guided tour of the local female prison, he learns from Police Commissioner Galil that most of the women in here are confined to serving extensive terms with their children due to domestic strife. The women beg ISAF to help them, but, once again, ISAF can do little more than listen to their story and shrug with a helpless sense of defeat.
    

 

  





 
  Smile and Wave

 

 


Regisseur: Marijke Jongbloed.
Camera: Frank Moll.
Geluid: Hugo Helmond.
Montage: Jos Driessen.
Produktie: Vik Franke. 92 min., Nederland, 2003.

DocuZone is een samenwerking van:
het Nederlands Fonds voor de Film,CoBO FondsStimuleringsfonds Culturele Omroepproducties, Associatie van Nederlandse Filmtheaters Ministerie van OC&W, Stichting DOEN, Werkgroep Documentaire Publieke Omroepen en Paul de Bont Film & Advies.

DocuZone, Lamonggracht 10, 1019 RE Amsterdam
Tel: 020-4207123 Fax: 020-4207124

PUBLICITEIT: (persmap, beeld, interviews,..):
MVSP: Monique van Schendelen, Pauline Verhoeven, Jay Soerdjbalie
Noordereinde 233-B, 1243 JT 's Graveland
Tel: 035 5826969 / 06 53 697 606 fax: 035 5827885


Websites:
http://www.smileandwave.com (foto's te downladen)
http://www.marijkejongbloed.com
http://www.docuzone.nl





The film takes the viewer on a journey through the confusing and often bizarre reality in which the Dutch peacekeeping forces are required to perform their daily duties. Trained for combat, these soldiers act as gatekeepers to the city: Peacekeepers in a Culture Clash. The average Afghan is certain of one thing only: "The moment ISAF leaves, a hundred different groupings will rise up and move straight back into the power vacuum. And the war will start all over again."