One of Australia’s greatest photojournalists takes the audience on a riveting first-hand journey through an Afghanistan rarely seen on the news. In Snow Monkey, George Gittoes paints a portrait of a war-torn Jalalabad seething with humanity, adversity and hope through his interaction with three gangs of children: the Snow Monkeys, who sell ice cream to support their families; the Ghostbusters, persecuted Kochi boys who hawk exorcisms of bad luck and demons; and the Gangsters, a razor gang led by a nine-year-old antihero called Steel, who is terrifying to the core but still capable of experiencing aspects of the childhood seemingly taken from him. With a deeply humane vision, Gittoes discovers the complex nature of Afghanistan’s politics, culture and society, up close and startlingly personal.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
