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The city of Kabul is often associated with conflict and misery, but recently a group of kids has used its war-torn ruins as the backdrop for a new obsession: skateboarding. This film follows the Skateistan project, an NGO that runs a skate park in Kabul, and offers lessons to local kids that want to learn how to skate. Remarkably, in a country where women are generally excluded from participating in sports, nearly 40 per cent of the skaters are girls, and they more than hold their own on the city’s ramps and rails.
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel
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Engineering
A close-up look at electronic paper reveals its exquisite patterns – and limitations
9 minutes
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Architecture
West Africa was once an architectural laboratory. Is it time for a revival?
12 minutes
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Work
A Swedish expat in the Philippines wonders: what’s up with people sleeping at work?
14 minutes
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Biography and memoir
The unique life philosophy of Abdi, born in Somalia, living in the Netherlands
29 minutes
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Art
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes
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The ancient world
An ancient Roman’s hilarious (and perhaps relatable) response to a social snub
2 minutes
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Death
A hunter’s lyrical reflection on the humbling business of being mortal
6 minutes
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Art
More than breathtaking, ‘The Birth of Venus’ signalled an aesthetic revolution
19 minutes
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Childhood and adolescence
Striking shadow puppetry illuminates a skater kid’s memories of Boy Scout camp
12 minutes