THE BOY MIR - 10 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN Documentary Premieres Today, 10/7

Following the international hit "The Boy who Plays on the Buddhas of Bamiyan," Phil Grabsky's THE BOY MIR - TEN YEARS IN AFGHANSTAN tracks cheeky, enthusiastic Mir from a childish eight to a fully grown seventeen-year-old. Over this decade, Grabsky follows Mir as he journeys into early adulthood in one of the toughest places on earth, creating a documentary that mirrors and reveals the vitally important story of modern Afghanistan. "The Boy Mir - Ten Years in Afghanistan" premieres on "Global Voices" tonight, October 7 at 10 PM on the WORLD Channel (check local listings).

The film begins in 2002, when Mir is living in a cave alongside the recently destroyed huge stone Buddhas of Bamiyan. As the film progresses, Mir changes -- like any boy growing up, he becomes more aware of the world and thus a little less happy-go-lucky. "The Boy Mir" is a film that reveals, in a uniquely moving and intimate fashion, what has been happening in Afghanistan since the November 2001 fall of the Taliban.

What difference has America's and other allies' input had on this country? Is there still a chance that Mir will end up as a soldier or opium farmer and, if so, can this cycle ever really be changed? The narrative is driven by Mir's journey into his early teens, when he will be expected to put his childish ways behind him and begin the difficult process of becoming a man. This is hard enough for any child, but Mir has to face this challenge in modern Afghanistan. In sum, "The Boy Mir - Ten Years in Afghanistan" is a unique portrayal of life, full of humor and poignancy, in today's Afghanistan.

For more on Global Voices, visit www.itvs.org/series/global-voices

For more information on the WORLD Channel, visit www.worldcompass.org