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MountainFilm in Telluride, Colorado
From May 23rd to May 27th, 2014

Exhibition & conference
by Reza

I met David Holbrooke five years ago in New York, near the Lincoln Centre. I was there to receive the Lucie Award for lifetime achievement in documentary. I had the honor of receiving this award and meeting a number of important figures from the photography world. David, the founder of the MountainFilm in Telluride, Colorado came to New York for this purpose.

We mostly talked about Afghanistan, where David’s father Richard, was on a mission, and where I had spent years on and off in the mountains for a number of stories and also to find and organize my own non-profit organization – Ainaworld – to help revive Afghan media, primarily by empowering and training Afghan women and creating new educational tools for children ..

Our common passion for the mountains, of both Afghanistan and Colorado, brought us together in New York. He eventually invited me for a conference and exhibition at the Festival on May 26th, but I immediately explained that it was my son’s 18th birthday. For many years, I was traveling and missed his birthdays; I couldn’t imagine missing this one.

After a short moment of silence, David told me he understood. As the son of a diplomat, I could easily see in his eyes how precious he found family moments. As a photojournalist for decades, I have often been forced to miss important family gatherings, sometimes in refugee camps with refugees and displaced persons; or on a coffee farm in the high mountains of Guatemala; or visiting AIDS patients in hospitals in African villages…

I am sure that Richard Holbrooke, committed to his diplomatic duties, had also missed some of these events –as many other diplomats, travelers, journalists and photographers around the world.

I am now writing from an airplane between Paris and Dubai, finally getting ready to come to Telluride. I can’t wait to meet with David again, and many other friends. If by chance, you can make it during my week-long stay, it would be a great honor.

MountainFilm in Telluride
From May 23rd to May 27th

Crossing Destinies
Ahh Haa Gallery and School for the Arts
300 South Townsend St., Telluride, CO 81435

The power of image for social change
Reza’s conference : Saturday, May 24th at 9:15 am
Michael D.Palm Theatre, 721 W.Colorado Avenue
Telluride, CO 81435

This post is also available in: French