SOME SHORTS

Azadi

W-D: Anthony Maras

Amir is a former teacher now selling rugs in his native Kabul and teaching on the side while always keeping an eye peeled for the brutal Taliban. When he escapes with his asthmatic son to Australia, they discover an equally cruel life in the Woomera Detention Centre. Beautifully shot and seamlessly acted, “Azadi” offers a stark view of our durability in the worst of times, à la Solzhenitsyn’s take on Russian gulags. – Joe O’Connell

“Azadi” screens as part of Shorts Program 5 on Friday, Oct. 21, 7:45pm, and Wednesday, Oct. 26, 7:10pm at the Dobie.

This article appears in October 21 • 2005.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.

James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.