STANDING UP

STANDING UP follows the lives of the young Afghan men training to become part of the first line of defense in the War Against Terror. The film also follows the lives of the Coalition soldiers charged with helping ready them for that crucial task.

Situated at the Kabul Military Training Center 'Standing Up' provides an exclusive window into one of the most important tasks in the stabilization of Afghanistan and the wider region.




The documentary-maker Waise Azimi embedded at Camp Alamo, the Coalition partner-base to the Kabul Military Training Center and spent four months working alongside the young men of Battalion 55 of the Afghan National Army and US and Canadian soldiers from the Combat Arms and Collective Exercise Training sections of Training Assistance Group V. Extensive access allowed Azimi a unique look into one of the most underreported and important stories in the War Against Terror, the story of those who are Standing Up to be the first line of defense.



Director's Statement
How did I get here? I guess it began because I really didn't know much about the Afghan National Army. I just knew that as long there wasn't one to speak of, Americans, Canadians, Englishmen and Italians and a whole host of other young men would keep on living out the best years of their youth from the weapons hatch of an APC or under the unforgiving sun of Pasthun-land Afghanistan. I had no idea that during my time with Batt. 55 the insurgency in the South - after many years of being on slow burn, would get kicked up several dozen notches and lead to the deaths of scores Afghans and bunches of Coalition and NATO soldiers. I realized that these young men I was with were being trained up for a hot war and right out the gates many of them would be in a fight for their lives and most people back in the States or in Europe couldn't put a face to a statistic and I sort of realized how I got here.

There's a lot riding out here. These young men are big part of what's going to make or break this country, keep it from becoming another terror pressure-cooker. Here, at the Kabul Military Training Center I got an unprecedented opportunity to see the backbone of a country being built up from nothing and this is their story, the story of 1st Company of the Afghan National Army's Battalion 55 and the Canadian and US soldiers who are helping them stand up to the challenges set before them.