We are thrilled to announce the Chicago premiere of Kartemquin Film’s newest award-winning documentary:
Saving Mes Aynak
June 2nd, 7:30 pm
3733 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613
Saving Mes Aynak follows Afghan archaeologist Qadir Temori as he races against time to save the 5,000 year old Mes Aynak site - located within Afghanistan’s Taliban-controlled Logar Province - from imminent demolition by a Chinese state-owned mining company. With only 10% of Mes Aynak excavated, experts are comparing it to Pompeii, with archeological finds that have the potential to rewrite the history of Afghanistan and Buddhism itself. Yet it could be destroyed at any time.
VIP premiere tickets - $100 (Limited run! Details below)
Panelists: Director Brent E. Huffman; Producer Zak Piper; archeologist Dr. Gil Stein, director of the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago; Lawrence Rothfield, University of Chicago Associate Professor of English and Comparative Literature and Faculty Director, The Past for Sale Project, University of Chicago; and Dr. Morag Kersel, archaeologist and Assistant Professor in Anthropology at DePaul University.
Introduction by Elspeth Revere (MacArthur Foundation). Moderated by Anthony Kaufman.
Tickets are $10 through the Music Box website! Click here to purchase. We are offering a special group ticket price of only $8 per ticket for groups of 4 or more! If you would like to organize group ticketing, please email Eileen O’Donnell at savingmesaynak@kartemquin.com.
Also available are Limited VIP Chicago Premiere Passes that include two tickets, an exclusive reception with the filmmakers and panelists following the screening, a DVD, a tour of Kartemquin, and other special perks! All proceeds from the purchase of a VIP pass will go to our ongoing Saving Mes Aynak Indiegogo campaign, which is currently raising funds to save Mes Aynak from destruction and preserve this historic treasure for all future generations. 20% of every VIP Pass will also go directly to the Afghan archaeologists currently risking their lives to excavate and protect Mes Aynak. For more information on our global #SaveMesAynak Indiegogo campaign go to igg.me/at/SaveMesAynak.
Saving Mes Aynak is an affecting documentary that is at once both a powerfully-crafted film and an urgent call to social action. We hope you are able to join us for this special Chicago premiere, and add your voice to save this important cultural site.
“a doc of crucial immediacy… advocacy filmmaking at its best and most chilling… Saving Mes Aynak is simply required viewing.” - Indiewire
"Mes Aynak is the most important archaeological discovery in a generation, revealing an entire city dating 5,000 years." - Chicago Tribune.
We look forward to meeting you at the Music Box Theatre on June 2nd at 7:30pm!