Additional attention has been focused on Noor Agha, the talented kite maker of Kabul, who was selected to build kites for the upcoming movie version of The Kite Runner.

In addition to making kites for the movie, Agha was asked to train the two young actors, who play principal characters from  Khaled Hosseini's best seller, to fly kites for the movie.  The skilful flying and fighting of kites in the tradition of Afghanistan is a key part of the story line.

Raju Gopalakrishnan. a reporter for the Reuters News Agency, tracked Noor Agha down in his home on the outskirts of Kabul.  Noor Agha now lives on the only vacant land he could find: -the graveyard of the district he was born in.  He has made a home and location for his kite making business along with his two wives and ten children.

An article in Gulfnews.com based on  Raju Gopalakrishnan's reporting contains two excellent photographs of Noor Agha and his kites. 

An earlier entry in my blog on this topic outlines some additional information on Noor Agha and his role in providing kites for the movie The Kite Runner.

Kabul's skies are once more filled with darting kites since the ban on kite flying imposed by the Taliban regime was lifted when a new government came to office in late 2001.

Skilled kite maker Noor Agha is again plying his trade and selling kites to make a living.  In fact, business is so good that he has taught all of his wives to make kites and is training his six year old daughter to do so as well.

Noor Agha's traditional Afghan kites are so authentic and precise that they were selected for use in the filming of the movie version of Khaled Hosseini's best selling novel, The Kite Runner.  (See entry on The Kite Runner movie.)  His kites were shipped in large quantity to China where the movie was filmed . The kites will be seen by millions of people around the world on the big screen.

Time Magazine reports:

Agha's factory is his living room, where he has put his two wives and 11 children to work, cutting, shaping and gluing the intricate tissue-paper mosaics that make his kites stand out for their beauty and superior handling. The secret is in the glue, he says, holding up a pot of evil-smelling green paste. "No one knows my recipe for making a glue that stays perfectly flat when it dries, without rippling the tissue paper," he says. Business is so good these days that Agha has had to teach his wives how to make kites. He proudly calls one of them "the second best kite maker in Kabul," although he insists that she will never be as good as he is. "I have 45 years' experience. She'll never be able to catch up." His 6-year-old daughter may have a better chance. Already she is making her own kites to sell to neighborhood children at one afghani (2¢) apiece.[1]

Noor Agha had to take his business underground in order to make kites during the Taliban days, but now his work can be sold openly.

'Kabul has changed a lot compared with how it was in the Taliban time. During their regime, if a child was even caught flying a (cheap) plastic kite, his father would be thrown in jail,' he said.

'But fortunately now, we live like kings. We can do whatever we want. We can fly kites wherever we want. We can enjoy our hobbies."[2]

Not only does Noor Agha craft traditional kites to a level of excellence, he still flies them once a week with other kite fliers. He continues to experience the sheer joy of controlling a darting kite and battling with opponents for supremacy in the skies.  Agha concludes:   "Making kites is my job," he says. "Fighting them is my disease." [3]

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References:

1.   TIME Magazine (On-line)  Friday, February 23, 2007 

2.   Kite industry thriving in Afghanistan.  Monday, November 13, 2006

3.   TIME Magazine (On-line) Friday, February 23, 2007 

Khaled Hosseini's runaway best seller, The Kite Runner  (Riverhead Publishing- 2003-06-02 - ISBN: 1573222453) rose to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List and has generated sustained reader interest over several years.

 It is an epic tale of fathers and sons, of friendship and betrayal, that takes the reader from the final days of the monarchy in Afghanistan to the control and atrocities of the Taliban regime.  It is an unforgettable story of coming of age, self discovery, betrayal and redemption that took millions of readers around the world into a different culture through a dramatic tale.

The main characters are Amir and his good friend Hassan who grow up together until a tragic event causes Amir to turn his back on his friend and leave him to suffer at the hands of a violent street gang.  At the time of the event, Amir has just concluded a successful battle with his kite for supremacy of the neighborhood skies during an Afghan festival.  Hassan, as always streaks away to retrieve the kites cut during the battle to bring them back for Amir.  It is during this "kite running" that Hassan is cornered by the gang and Amir turns away from his friend.  The story of the painful aftermath for Amir, Hassan is wonderfully told by Khaled Hosseini in his first novel.  The insights into Afghan culture and life are deep and profound.  They put a human face on the upheaval and suffering that has befallen the central Asian nation over the past years.

Now, Paramount Vantage and Director Marc Forster, backed by Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks,  are bringing The Kite Runner to the silver screen this fall.  Scheduled for release November 2, 2007, the movie has already completed shooting and has moved to the post-production phase.

For kite fliers the story has additional appeal in that it focuses on the kite battles that exemplify the kite flying skill typically found in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.  The tradition of using darting fighter kites flown on line coated with ground glass is strong in these nations and continues to this day.

Due to the difficulty and danger of  conditions in Afghanistan, the production team sought alternative locations for filming.  Kashgar, China was selected for its close resemblance to Afghanistan.  Here, in Muslim neighborhoods, that are very similar to pre-war Kabul in the 1970's, the movie has been given visual authenticity.

The producers and director have worked hard to provide complete authenticity to the entire production.  The streets are full of bearded men in traditional garb and of women wearing burkhas.  The cast was selected for both their ability to act and to speak in "Dari", the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan.  The entire dialogue is in the language and dialect of Afghanistan.  This means that English speaking audiences will be following the story in sub-titles.  Director Forster is confident that the story will grip movie audiences even though they will have to expend the effort to read and follow the on-screen action simultaneously.

Khaled Hosseini (right) was present throughout most of the filming and worked directly with Marc Forster left) and the actors to help interpret the story that is so important to him.

Kekiria Ebrihimi, age eleven at the time of the filming, plays the role of Amir. Ahmad Khan Mahmiidzada, age ten, plays the role of Amir's faithful friend, the servant boy,  Hassan.  The role of Amir's father, Baba, is played by 59 year old Iranian actor Homayoun Ershadi.  Kahlid Abdallah, a British actor with Egyptian heritage, plays the role of the adult Amir.  

The November 2, 2007 screening date is eagerly awaited by fans of this great novel and by kite fliers who will be thrilled to see Afghan style kite fighting take a central part in the movie.

For kiters who are movie aficionados, this is not the first time that Director Marc Forster has used kites in his movies.  In the movie Finding Neverland,  Forster directed Johnny Depp, Kate Winslett and some talented young actors in the story of J. M. Barry, the author of Peter Pan.  An English arch top kite was prominently featured in a park scene within this movie. (See: Kites in the Movie "Finding Neverland".)

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Photo Credits: 

• Khaled Hosseini photo - Roger Williams University
  
• Street Scene, Kashgar, China - New York Times
  
• Marc Forster and Khaled Hosseini on location in Kashgar - New York Times
• Amir and Hassan Kite Running - International Herald Tribune
  

Filming the Flight of the Bell Tetrahedral Kite for CBC-TV

Alexander Graham Bell - "The Greatest Canadian!"

As part of the TV documentary series "The Greatest Canadian", CBC-TV required a Bell tetrahedral kite as a visual prop to explain some of Alexander Graham Bell's work in early aviation.

A 16 cell tetrahedral kite was built by Morris Canning of Parrsboro, NS (shown left) to be used in the segment about Bell's kites. The remainder of the story of Bell's use of kites is revealed through the use of archival photos from the A.G. Bell Museum in Baddeck, NS.

I was contacted in late July of 2004 by Patti-Ann Finlay, a CBC researcher assigned to the project, to discuss the role of tetrahedral kites and possibly build one for the documentary. My commitments to our local kite festival prevented me from actually building the kite. So Morris Canning undertook the construction of the kite and shipped it to me for my work with the CBC documentary crew. It was my task to assemble it, test fly it, teach CBC on-air staff to fly the kite and manage its use within the documentary.

The opportunity to work on a project like this would be exciting to any kiter and I eagerly entered into the project. Patti-Ann and I consulted on the phone on a number of occasions.

The kite that Morris built arrived on September 24th. It is an elegantly constructed kite and Morris clearly is a very fine kite builder. The complicated corner connections on the kite are nicely made out of vinyl tubing. They are surprisingly effective at giving the kite structural integrity at the complicated joints of tetra cells. The spars are of 3/16" hardwood dowel which make them light, yet reasonably strong. The sails are of red ripstop and they are very nicely sewn. Red was chosen to emulate the red silk used by Bell in his tetrahedral kite experiments at Beinn Bhreagh in Baddeck, N.S.

The date of filming was set for Thursday, September 30, 2004 at Milliken Park in the borough of Scarborough, city of Toronto. Upon my arrival at 11:00 a.m., I set up two perimeter wind ribbons on twenty foot telescoping poles to help us determine wind direction and speed during the takes for the flight sequence. Winds were light and intermittent. However, when there was a bit of wind it seemed that we would be able to carry out the flights according to plan.

I completed the assembly of the kite and staked it to the ground to avoid an unwanted lift off. The setup of the film equipment was undertaken by CBC's technicians. It was at that moment that I realized the complexity of the task. The camera crew required a ninety foot track to be set up for their camera sled to ensure smooth filming as they provided motion and panning to the shots. Immediately I worried about the variability of wind direction. It was no easy task to set up the track, camera and sound equipment and if the wind did not hold in the general direction of the established layout we would be in serious trouble.

Ask any kite flyer about constant wind direction and they will tell you that there are no guarantees. There may be prevailing winds and there may be on-shore/off-shore wind conditions that are typical, but there are no guarantees on constancy of wind direction for any one day or period in a day. I was quietly worried.

At about 12:30 p.m. my good friend Gary Mark of TKF arrived to take some photos of the event as well as to lend some encouragement and support. It was not long before Gary was an active and involved member of the kite crew and a highly valuable additional resource consultant. We decided that a test flight would be useful since I had only flown the kite in a four cell configuration to check some basic flight characteristics. I had never actually handled Morris' tetrahedral in its full sixteen cell configuration.

We walked the kite out for a very long launch due to the light wind conditions. So far so good - the wind direction remained aligned with the camera track location.

A tug, a few backward steps after Gary hand launched the kite and the kite was airborne. The kite climbed quickly and steadily and lofted into a stable position. Spontaneously the crew, director and management team broke into applause. The kite hung there for a few seconds and then the breeze died and I reeled in as quickly as possible to keep tension on the kite and bring it in for a soft landing. Gary broke into a sprint to soften the impact of the kite on the ground. He demonstrated good speed and agility and assisted the landing nicely.

Morris Canning constructed the kite lightly, but well. His intention, I figured, was to ensure good balance and provide a light enough framing structure to ensure easy flight in lighter winds. That was a good decision for we did not have strong winds during the day. Generally top wind speed, when the wind was up, was estimated at about 10-12 km per hour. Fequently it was much lighter than that and flying the kite required some vigorous pulling in of line to maintain elevation for the brief ninety second vidoe sequence .

Morris likely did not realize that we would have to accomplish about 15 flights during the day to ensure a good take for use in the documentary. All of the flights required some skilled line handling on the bridle and frame for launch. In addition delicate landings were necessary when the winds failed.

To ensure that the kite frame would not break we raced out to grab the kite and prevent it from dashing into the ground on each occasion. Gary Mark demonstrated 'great wheels' and proved that he is considerably younger and fitter than I am. Gary was assisted by Patti-Ann Finlay and Andre Czernohorsky of CBC. Great 'saves' were made on a number of occasions. However, there were a few crunches resulting in some broken spars. In addition, launching the kite seemed to put a good deal of strain on the frame and a few spars were broken at the start of some of the flights.

Each break required some disassembly of the kite to get at the cell that suffered the damage. Spar repairs were made, reassembly accomplished and subsequent "takes" were set up. As everyone knows, the Director wants to have several choices on tape from which to make a final selection.

In all, we did ten takes of on-screen narrator Evan Soloman of CBC Newsworld explaining the features of the tetrahedral kite, Bell's reasons for choosing the tetrahedral structure, and a demonstration flight. The kite performed well each time.

At the end of shooting the sequence with dialogue we readied the kite for one final flight with Evan not doing any narration. The purpose for the final flight was to get some unusual camera angles of the kite and Evan as the kite flyer. It was thought that these flight sequences might be used when the credits are shown for the documentary.

Following a long flight sequence the camera crew were satisfied and, on cue, the light winds died and the kite dropped. This time a few broken spars ensured that I would have some work at home to put it back in pristine condition. However, it had done it's job and Morris' fine version of the tetrahedral more than stood up to the rigorous multi-flight test.

The sequence will be part of the Bell documentary to air on November 15, 2004. For more information on "The Greatest Canadian" series, visit the CBC site dedicated to the project. Within the overall site on the series is a section devoted to Alexander Graham Bell.

My appreciation is extended to Patty-Ann Finlay of CBC-TV for including me in the work on this project. My hat is off to Morris Canning for his kite building skills and my good friend Gary Mark of Oakville, ON for helping out with his fine flying skills. Thanks also to host Evan Soloman and the entire crew for making Gary and I feel so special and involved. It was truly an interesting day of kiting!

Once in a while,  kites are used in movies as a prop to help set the theme and the era of the film. Occasionally a kite actually becomes major prop.   For example, the terrific Cody-type kite that was used to provide rapid propulsion assistance in Kevin Costner's WaterWorld. It was one of the most dramatic uses of a kite in a movie that I have ever seen.

Now there is a new movie about to be released (October 22, 2004) which will feature a kite that is historically correct for the period setting of the movie. In the new movie Finding Neverland, Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) uses a kite to help detail a setting between the principal actors Johnny Depp and Kate Winslet.

Finding Neverland is a tale of magic and fantasy inspired by the life of James Barrie, the real-life author of the children's classic Peter Pan. Set in London in 1904, the film follows Barrie's creative journey to bring Peter Pan to life, from his first inspiration for the story up until the play's premiere at the Duke of York Theatre - a night that will change not only Barrie's own life, but the lives of everyone close to him.

More information on Barrie, his life and the famous book that he wrote can be found in Petri Liukkonen's wonderful web site of biographies of famous authors.

The kite used in the brief pastoral scene in the movie is an English arch top kite. It appears that the sail is made of modern day nylon and not the more correct carefully stretched paper sail material of the era. From the photo it is difficult to ascertain the materials used in the framing of the kite.

The English arch top kite is a modification of the very basic two-stick lite. It is usually made like the two-stick kite with an arched top formed by an additional curved framing strip of rattan or bamboo. A  line drawing of the "English Arch Top Kite" shows its structure.

It appears that the kite in the movie foregoes the tassels on the cross spar but it does feature a tail for stability. In addition, the kite in the movie: 

• does not seem to be of the same dimensional proportions as a typical arch top kite.
•  the section of the kite above the cross spar appears to be taller and the more of a curve is used than in an original design.
•  the length of the kite below the cross spar is somewhat shorter. However, the angle at which the kite is being held in the photo could account for the appearance of differences in dimension.
  

Although I want to see the movie because of the story of Barrie's life (it is fascinating), the added pleasures of two optical delights: a yellow arch top kite -and- Kate Winslet will also draw me to the box office!