Oi Nymfes Tou Hindu Kush
The Nymphs of Hindu Kush
Anneta Papathanassiou
»Nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature and are usually depicted as beautiful, young, nubile maidens who love to dance and sing and have an amorous freedom. Kalash women, in to my opinion, have all these elements.«
– Anneta Papathanassiou
The last four thousand members of the ancient Kalash tribe live reclusively in the mountains of Hindu Kush on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Although this is the middle of the Islamic world, they have never converted to Islam but preserved their traditional polytheistic religion: they believe in a plethora of gods including nymphs and fairies. Kalash women are strong and lovable and they enjoy many freedoms. Shamim, for example, is the first of their women to go to university. She dreams of working with Athanassios Lerounis, the president of Greek Volunteers (a NGO which organizes development and education projects in the region) and of helping her people. But when Lerounis is kidnapped by the Taliban, the Kalash are deeply concerned. Anneta Papathanassiou creates in her The Nymphs of Hindu Kush, the portrait of a highly engaging people. But due to the tense security situation, and related bans on entering the country, she had to coordinate some of the directorial work from Greece.
Anneta Papathanassiou
Anneta Papathanassiou has a BA in economics from the University of Athens and a diploma from the Hatzikou School of Drama and Cinema. She studied theatre at the HB Studio and New York University. She has been acting in the theatre and television for over 20 years. She teaches drama courses at the American College of Greece / Deree and the Allagon Theatre – and she has just established an independent theatre in centre of Athens. She has published two books and directed six documentaries. Her film Qadir – An Afghan Ulysses has received three best documentary awards.
Films by Anneta Papathanassiou
Qadir – An Afghan Ulysses 2008 | Tsunami – A Year After 2006 | After the Tsunami – Sri Lanka 2005 | After the Tsunami – Sumatra 2005 | Living Is Cool 2003