The people and especially the children that PJ depicts are the country’s magicians. They have been hardened by the capricious climate in which they live. The ‘actors’ that PJ introduces in his docufiction are all facing a camera for the first time. The fact that PJ presented their film on an improvised screen in an exclusive screening beneath the Afghan sky is a tribute to the warm atmosphere and to the

great respect that he has for these debutants. The Land of the Enlightened is thus also a film about a relationship between a very attentive Westerner who directs images with enormous care, and happy, grown-up Afghan children who want to be viewed heedfully and with love.

Afghanistan is a ‘farming country’ with a highly specialised agriculture. Afghanistan is a ‘country
of conflict’ with complex geo-political interests and a rich, still-to-be exploited subsoil. With these images, PJ has shown that Afghanistan is also a country of smart and exceptionally talented people. In Afghanistan, the forces of nature are the most dominant feature. But the Afghans inspire admiration. With new rituals, the men, women and children of this country are on the road from antiquity to modernity, but it is they themselves who will determine the rhythm and speed of their history.