MANILA, Philippines - The Kite Runner, adapted from Khaled Hosseini’s best-selling debut novel, begs the question of personal accountability in instances of injustice. How much are we party to the pain of others by simply refusing to confront their existence?
The Kite Runner is a profoundly emotional tale of friendship, family, devastating mistakes and redeeming love premiering tonight at 10 on HBO Signature.
In a divided country on the verge of war, two childhood best friends, Amir and Hassan, are about to be torn apart forever. It’s a glorious in Kabul and the skies are bursting with the exhilarating joy of an innocent kite-fighting tournament. But in the aftermath of the day’s victory, one boy’s fearful act of betrayal will set in motion a catastrophe… and an epic quest for redemption.
Now, after 20 years of living in America, Amir returns to a perilous Afghanistan under the Taliban’s iron-fisted rule to face the dark secrets that still haunt him and take one last daring chance to set things right.
Golden Globe nominated directed Marc Forster (Finding Neverland) brings to life Hosseini’s bestseller on the screen with a globally diverse cast and crew, mixing a remarkable group of non-actors from Afghanistan and Central Asia with an accomplished international cast, and shooting on location in the Western Chinese desert bordering Afghanistan. The result is a journey into a new world — through a universal human story that speaks to anyone who has ever yearned for a second chance to make a change and find forgiveness.
For Forster, the story of Amir and Hassan’s idyllic childhood friendship and the dramatic turn of events that would come to shadow Amir’s brand new life in America were irresistible. “I just fell in love with this story,” the director says. “Reading the book was such an emotional and beautiful experience that I knew right away I wanted to be involved… It is a story about breaking the cycle of violence and about the sustaining possibilities for redemption. For me, the challenge (was) creating this incredibly epic journey while bringing the audience inside a very intimately story about a few individuals and the profound effect they have on each other’s lives. That mix is the real beauty of the novel.”
Yet, even Forster was not prepared for how intense an experience making this film found would ultimately be, taking him from Europe to Kabul to Pakistan and China on an eye-opening and, at times harrowing, journey that would, in all of its own imagery and emotion, inform every frame of the film.
Catch The Kite Runner exclusively on SkyCable. Encores tomorrow, June 27 at 7:30 p.m. and June 28 at 3 p.m. For details, log on to www.hboasia.com.