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Community Corner

Local Producer's Afghanistan Film Takes First Place in Fest

Local publisher makes big screen debut with award-winning documentary on feminine health in war-torn Afghanistan.

Local newspaper publisher turned documentary filmmaker Von Raees recently took First Place in the Short Documentary category of the Los Angeles Reel Film Festival.

The documentary, Where Are the Men?--which Raees produced and directed with his sister, Taraneh Salke--looks at the availability of and access to health services for women in the war-ravaged country. 

Taraneh Salke is the founder and president of Family Health Alliance, a nonprofit organization focused on the advancement of women’s reproductive health and rights in resource-poor environments.

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Salke has led more than 30 workshops for female and male health professionals in Afghanistan over the last eight years. She has a Masters in Public Health degree from UCLA.

With the second-highest material mortality rate in the world, Afghanistan's male-dominated society disallows access to many feminine healthcare practices such as contraceptives and routine prenatal care.

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In Where Are the Men?, Salke and Raees cite the need for more education and involvement of Afghani males in the fight towards better access to female healthcare.

The film's plot summary on the Internet Movie Database says Where Are the Men? says that any chance Afghanistan has at solving this problem will take a sea-change in the attitudes and actions of the country's men.

"Afghanistan is a strongly male-dominated society. Many women suffer abuse, most need their husband's permission to leave the house, use health services or contraceptives. Since men are the decision makers at all levels, educating and involving Afghan men is vital for women's access to health services and reducing maternal and child mortality." (IMDB)

Many here in Sierra Madre know Raees as the long-time publisher of the Beacon Media newspaper group, which includes the Sierra Madre Weekly.

Taraneh Salke, his sister, has been working in Afghanistan for more than eight years, traveling the country to promote feminine healthcare and education on more than 20 different trips.

In 2010, Salke and Raees travelled to Afghanistan to film the first part of what will eventually become a full-length documentary on the same subject.

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