(Euronews: 0948 PST, April 1, 2011) In Afghanistan at least eight people have been killed in an attack on a United Nations compound, with reports indicating two of those killed were beheaded. The violence in Mazar-i-Sharif erupted as hundreds demonstrated over the burning of the Koran by a pastor in a United States church last month. Afghan police fired into the air in a bid to disperse the protesters who were chanting, "Death to the USA, Death to Israel" as they gathered for Friday prayers.
(Al Jazeera English: 0030 PST, February 6, 2011) This film tells the story of five days in January 2011 when the people of Egypt broke through a barrier of fear they had known for a generation and rose in revolt against their president.
Anger had long been brewing in Egypt - strikes, unemployment and sectarian tension were on the rise. Small networks of activists had been agitating against Hosni Mubarak's autocratic rule for years. But it was only when another Arab country, Tunisia, rose up against its tyrant that the Egyptian activists attracted mass support.
People took to the streets across Egypt demanding political freedoms, an end to state corruption, and a better quality of life for the impoverished population. Egypt Burning captures those critical moments as history unfolded through interviews with Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground.
Click here for important background information on the unrest in Egypt.
Watch Al Jazeera English's live broadcast stream, online now.
Cambria Matlow is a freelance film director who has worked on several short films probing controversial world issues, and served as manager of non-theatrical programming at Film Movement, an independent and foreign film distribution company. Matlow makes her documentary directorial debut in Burning in the Sun, the story of a budding entrepreneur inspired to make a positive impact on his homeland community in Mali. To fund this ViewChange Online Film Contest-winning project, Matlow tapped into her own entrepreneur potential and co-founded Birdgirl Productions in 2005. She writes in the Huffington Post about why she chose her film’s aspiring protagonist:
"Twenty-six-year-old charmer Daniel Dembélé is equal parts West African and European, and looking to make his mark on the world. Seizing the moment at a crossroads in his life, Daniel decides to return to his homeland in Mali and start a local business building solar panels — the first of its kind in the sun-drenched nation. Daniel's goal is to electrify the households of rural communities, 99 percent of which live without power.
"For us, Daniel's work shatters notions of the need for African dependence on outside aid and embraces the view that ultimately it is Africans who will develop Africa in their own way.
"It is important to us for the film to showcase him as an African leader, not only of his country, but as a global trendsetter. So not only do viewers come away with a greater understanding of the kind of development that makes the most sense for Africa, but a sense of profound inspiration that they can take the action they have seen and apply it in their own communities."
For an inside view on Daniel's daring, charisma and intelligence, watch Burning in the Sun:
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