GUDIPARAN | SHORT DOCUMENTARY from Nima Shahmalekpur on Vimeo.
I was born in North Afghanistan, in Kunduz City. I made and flew my first kite when I was 6 years old. Kite flying is a popular traditional hobby especially at Nauruz (New Year)
I gave my first kite making in the Copleston Centre in Peckham, South London in 2008, as part of an art group at the Southwark Day Centre for Asylum Seekers. Then from there I was introduced to the Horniman Museum and made a kite workshop for the children; there was snow on the ground but there was sunshine and we flew the kites.
During the following few years I was asked to do workshops in London for the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, The Mosaic Club House and The Ritzy Cinema both in Brixton, The Vaults under Waterloo Station, Mosaic Rooms in Earls Court and The Story Gardens in Kings Cross. My kites are currently on display in the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill, have raised money in auctions for Freedom From Torture and have featured in films with film maker Nima Shahmalekpur.
I would love to do more workshops in the UK, so please contact me and we can talk about it.
Kite flying was the happiness of my childhood in the sadness of the war
Ahmadzia
Ahmadzia tells here the story of his early relationship to kites.
Ahmadzia Afghan Kite Maker 