Where the Light Shines (2019) - full transcript
When two men compete to qualify in the Winter Olympics for the first time for Afghanistan, they realize that home is worth fighting for. In their wake they leave a passion for skiing and a ...
[QUIET MUSIC BUILDS]
[JOYFUL SHOUTS]
Hey!
So, how are you?
[SINGING]
And two more.
Starts to get tiring now.
One. Two.
Get these muscles going here.
Just roll over. Yay!
[WIND HOWLS]
So St Moritz,
are we having a good time?
Give the man a
round of applause, please.
That was great,
a round of applause.
Turn. Release. Turn.
Good.
Making good progress.
Especially the last
three weeks I would say.
- Right?
- Yeah.
We still have a long way
to go for the Olympics.
That's for sure.
But trying to do our best
[TRAIN DOORS OPEN]
[LAUGHING]
[HORSES HOOVES AND MEN SHOUTING]
[WIND HOWLING]
[FARM NOISES]
[MEN SHOUTING ON PHONE]
[CHILDREN TALKING]
I don't know. We will see.
Guess.
What do you think?
Er... maybe twen... thirty?
Twenty seconds after two runs?
Yeah.
We will see.
If you lose that
much, I would be happy.
[LAUGHING]
I will keep you happy.
Okay.
I'm here to keep
happy everybody.
I'm not going to crash.
Good luck boys.
Thank you.
Do your best.
[STARTING BEEPS]
[COWBELLS, CLAPPING]
[STARTING BEEPS]
[COWBELLS]
Hey, you made it.
One second faster than Alishah.
Made it.
Yeah, it was really bumpy.
I told you.
But at least you made it.
- Oh yeah.
- Good, was it good?
- How was it?
- Too slow.
Who was faster? Really?
One second.
Amazing.
Hey, but at least you came down?
- Yup.
- I listened very carefully,
if they would.
[WIND HOWLS]
Tomorrow is the
World Championship
qualifiers in St Moritz.
It's second only to
the Olympic Games.
Many athletes from different
countries and with
different skills.
But I think some of them
are still in our level.
Yeah. I'm trying to
beat someone at least.
What does that mean to the
people of Afghanistan
to see you tomorrow
maybe on television,
running here in St Moritz?
I already told some friends
and they are
waiting for us to watch,
but I'm really hopeful if
they broadcast on the TV.
Can I have an autograph?
Sure.
Renzo.
How do you spell your name?
R... E... N... Z... O.
Thanks. Thank you.
Good luck.
See you, huh?
[NIGHTCLUB MUSIC]
I wish you everything
great for tomorrow.
No, the day after tomorrow.
Thank you.
Hey, Afghanistan is great, huh?
See you then. Bye, bye.
Hey Andreas,
good luck Afghanistan.
People are writing me.
- Who's he?
- The secretary of the ski club.
People are going crazy!
[PHONE RINGS]
Hello.
Hello.
There will be some
ruts and everything.
You will feel ice. Just... bah!
Don't hold too long.
Just quickly, quickly.
Don't go too early, huh?
Just when it beep... beep.
Then you can go.
Alright.
I'm starting to get nervous.
Like I would do the race.
[AIRCRAFT FLIES OVER]
Alishah, not to early.
Not when he closes the gate.
You know how the beep goes.
Beep, beep, beep.
And then you can go.
- Okay.
- Like normal.
Come on!
Make us proud.
Oh, I'm nervous
[STARTING BEEPS]
Hah. Go Alishah!
[MUSIC]
[CHEERING]
[STARTING BEEPS]
Hah!
Ladies and gentlemen, from
Afghanistan, Mr Alishah Farhang
with a time of 1
minute, 26 seconds, 81.
That's 28.72 seconds
behind today's leader.
Mr Sajjad Hussaini
from Afghanistan.
A time of 1'33"91, 35.82 seconds
behind today's fastest time.
Yay!
Fantastic job.
[WAXING SKIS]
[SAWING]
[HAMMERING]
[GIGGLING]
[CHILDREN TALKING]
[WIND HOWLING]
Today, US forces in Afghanistan
attacked an IS stronghold
in Nagahar,
in the east of the country,
using the world's most
powerful non-nuclear weapon.
The US attack comes
as much of the country
has returned to Taliban control,
and Islamic state
presence is increasing.
In a separate strike,
according to the Pentagon,
the leader of the Afghan branch
of IS was killed yesterday.
The aim of these US raids
is to significantly disrupt
Islamist terror activities
in Afghanistan.
[MUSIC, TRAFFIC]
[DISTANT EXPLOSION]
[MAN RUNNING]
[SHOVELING]
[DRUMMING AND SINGING]
[DRUMMING AND MUSIC]
[SHEEP BAAING]
[MEN LAUGHING]
[STARTING PISTOL]
[CAR STARTS AND LEAVES]
[NOISY MARKET]
- Hey.
- Hey.
Good morning. Welcome back.
Good to see you.
And I heard you
had a good summer.
Was good summer, yeah.
- Tough summer?
- We had some good training.
- Good training?
- Yeah.
Good, so you are fit?
We feel fit this time.
Oh, you look good.
You look like ski racers.
You know, in principle you
should have one more year,
but we don't have the time.
No, no. We don't.
That's the problem
because the Olympics are
taking place this Winter
not the year after.
We don't have to make
too many races,
but we have to see
that we will arrive,
if possible, at the points
you need for the Olympics.
Now is the time that you can
write history for Afghanistan.
Yeah, that's right.
You can show people that with
hard work you can reach a goal,
and not just with
cheating, right?
Exactly, yeah.
And this is kind
of the lesson that
you could deliver
to a whole country.
60 million people.
Yeah, yeah.
So, pants off. Warm yourself up.
Keep your jacket on.
Just put pressure on,
just quickly on your skis.
Quickly, off again...
[BEEP]
[STARTING BEEPS AND SHOUTING]
Push, push.
Push, push.
Good. Ok, let's get ready
by putting your skis on
[STARTING BEEPS AND SHOUTING]
Alishah
[STARTING BEEPS]
[MUSIC]
Go, Alishah.
Come on. Three, four. Good.
Forward. Woop. Come on.
[CHEERING]
Ah Sajjad, go!
Come on. Push. Keep going.
You lost about twenty-two
seconds each run.
Each run?
Yeah.
Twenty-two.
More than twenty-two.
Well if you would lose just
about ten seconds that's okay.
Even twelve, fourteen...
But twenty-two is quite a lot.
Twenty-two is quite a lot.
You can picnic on the way down.
[LAUGHING]
Try and stop for
a coffee somewhere.
I would risk a little
more because you can ski.
When you ski freely
you go like crazy.
Just don't think too much.
Just ski, yeah?
Good evening, coaches.
I would like to welcome you
in the name of the FIS
and hope that we will all enjoy
a successful and
accident-free event
here in Folgaria.
Thank you.
[CHEERING IN BACKGROUND]
Warm yourself up a little bit.
Don't go too stiff
into the turn.
Release first and
then on the edge.
Release and then on the edge.
[STARTING BEEPS]
Alishah.
Attack! Go for it, go for it.
Come on, wake up!
Come on, Sajjad.
Go.
[CHEERING]
[STARTING BEEPS AND SHOUTING]
Come on!
[STARTING BEEPS]
Alishah, go! Come on.
Come on.
Come on, fight.
[MUSIC BUILDS]
Come on, Sajjad. Go, go.
Go, Sajjad, Go. Come on.
Come on.
This is going to be hell.
Maybe if a helicopter take
me down, I don't know,
I may get on the podium.
Otherwise, there is no chance.
You know, that's the way it is.
Maybe of these
ninety people here,
ten go home happy, and the other
ones are going home unhappy.
For this season, over.
I cannot be sad
or unhappy because
this is the condition I am.
I am happy that I
tried all my best.
Well, technically I'm not sure
if we can get qualified,
with the result we had
from our last race.
But perhaps there is a chance
that they let us
go and participate.
[CAMERA CLICK]
Kabul has been thrown into chaos
as a suicide bomber detonated on
a busy street in
the Afghan capital.
At least 95 people were killed,
with the Taliban claiming
responsibility for the attack,
their second this week.
Last Saturday, they stormed a
major international hotel,
with gunmen killing 22 people.
Nine employees of Afghan
airline Kam Air were killed,
grounding all internal
flights in the country.
These attacks are
another sign of an
increasing Taliban
presence in Afghanistan,
as they once again wrestle
for control from the government.
[ANIMAL NOISES]
[PHONE RINGS]
Someone has to start,
and someone has to take all
this pressure on their shoulders
so it becomes easier
for the next one.
This is difficult, but I have to
open a hope for the
next generation,
for the young people
in Afghanistan.
[MUSIC]
We work a lot during
this past four years,
and we know how to ski and
we are the best of the country.
You know, me and Sajjad are the
best skiers from the country,
because we worked hard.
But it is not a good feeling
not to reach your goal.
I would like to
train for another
Olympics if it there
is opportunity,
but for me, the conditions are
getting harder to
train as an athlete
[MUSIC]
[CHEERS AND LAUGHING]
For myself personally, it
has been a great journey this.
We didn't know anything
about the ski racing,
but now we know.
We can bring it to
some other people,
and inspire some people,
and motivate some
people to do good.
[LAUGHING AND CLAPPING]
[JOYFUL SHOUTS]
Hey!
So, how are you?
[SINGING]
And two more.
Starts to get tiring now.
One. Two.
Get these muscles going here.
Just roll over. Yay!
[WIND HOWLS]
So St Moritz,
are we having a good time?
Give the man a
round of applause, please.
That was great,
a round of applause.
Turn. Release. Turn.
Good.
Making good progress.
Especially the last
three weeks I would say.
- Right?
- Yeah.
We still have a long way
to go for the Olympics.
That's for sure.
But trying to do our best
[TRAIN DOORS OPEN]
[LAUGHING]
[HORSES HOOVES AND MEN SHOUTING]
[WIND HOWLING]
[FARM NOISES]
[MEN SHOUTING ON PHONE]
[CHILDREN TALKING]
I don't know. We will see.
Guess.
What do you think?
Er... maybe twen... thirty?
Twenty seconds after two runs?
Yeah.
We will see.
If you lose that
much, I would be happy.
[LAUGHING]
I will keep you happy.
Okay.
I'm here to keep
happy everybody.
I'm not going to crash.
Good luck boys.
Thank you.
Do your best.
[STARTING BEEPS]
[COWBELLS, CLAPPING]
[STARTING BEEPS]
[COWBELLS]
Hey, you made it.
One second faster than Alishah.
Made it.
Yeah, it was really bumpy.
I told you.
But at least you made it.
- Oh yeah.
- Good, was it good?
- How was it?
- Too slow.
Who was faster? Really?
One second.
Amazing.
Hey, but at least you came down?
- Yup.
- I listened very carefully,
if they would.
[WIND HOWLS]
Tomorrow is the
World Championship
qualifiers in St Moritz.
It's second only to
the Olympic Games.
Many athletes from different
countries and with
different skills.
But I think some of them
are still in our level.
Yeah. I'm trying to
beat someone at least.
What does that mean to the
people of Afghanistan
to see you tomorrow
maybe on television,
running here in St Moritz?
I already told some friends
and they are
waiting for us to watch,
but I'm really hopeful if
they broadcast on the TV.
Can I have an autograph?
Sure.
Renzo.
How do you spell your name?
R... E... N... Z... O.
Thanks. Thank you.
Good luck.
See you, huh?
[NIGHTCLUB MUSIC]
I wish you everything
great for tomorrow.
No, the day after tomorrow.
Thank you.
Hey, Afghanistan is great, huh?
See you then. Bye, bye.
Hey Andreas,
good luck Afghanistan.
People are writing me.
- Who's he?
- The secretary of the ski club.
People are going crazy!
[PHONE RINGS]
Hello.
Hello.
There will be some
ruts and everything.
You will feel ice. Just... bah!
Don't hold too long.
Just quickly, quickly.
Don't go too early, huh?
Just when it beep... beep.
Then you can go.
Alright.
I'm starting to get nervous.
Like I would do the race.
[AIRCRAFT FLIES OVER]
Alishah, not to early.
Not when he closes the gate.
You know how the beep goes.
Beep, beep, beep.
And then you can go.
- Okay.
- Like normal.
Come on!
Make us proud.
Oh, I'm nervous
[STARTING BEEPS]
Hah. Go Alishah!
[MUSIC]
[CHEERING]
[STARTING BEEPS]
Hah!
Ladies and gentlemen, from
Afghanistan, Mr Alishah Farhang
with a time of 1
minute, 26 seconds, 81.
That's 28.72 seconds
behind today's leader.
Mr Sajjad Hussaini
from Afghanistan.
A time of 1'33"91, 35.82 seconds
behind today's fastest time.
Yay!
Fantastic job.
[WAXING SKIS]
[SAWING]
[HAMMERING]
[GIGGLING]
[CHILDREN TALKING]
[WIND HOWLING]
Today, US forces in Afghanistan
attacked an IS stronghold
in Nagahar,
in the east of the country,
using the world's most
powerful non-nuclear weapon.
The US attack comes
as much of the country
has returned to Taliban control,
and Islamic state
presence is increasing.
In a separate strike,
according to the Pentagon,
the leader of the Afghan branch
of IS was killed yesterday.
The aim of these US raids
is to significantly disrupt
Islamist terror activities
in Afghanistan.
[MUSIC, TRAFFIC]
[DISTANT EXPLOSION]
[MAN RUNNING]
[SHOVELING]
[DRUMMING AND SINGING]
[DRUMMING AND MUSIC]
[SHEEP BAAING]
[MEN LAUGHING]
[STARTING PISTOL]
[CAR STARTS AND LEAVES]
[NOISY MARKET]
- Hey.
- Hey.
Good morning. Welcome back.
Good to see you.
And I heard you
had a good summer.
Was good summer, yeah.
- Tough summer?
- We had some good training.
- Good training?
- Yeah.
Good, so you are fit?
We feel fit this time.
Oh, you look good.
You look like ski racers.
You know, in principle you
should have one more year,
but we don't have the time.
No, no. We don't.
That's the problem
because the Olympics are
taking place this Winter
not the year after.
We don't have to make
too many races,
but we have to see
that we will arrive,
if possible, at the points
you need for the Olympics.
Now is the time that you can
write history for Afghanistan.
Yeah, that's right.
You can show people that with
hard work you can reach a goal,
and not just with
cheating, right?
Exactly, yeah.
And this is kind
of the lesson that
you could deliver
to a whole country.
60 million people.
Yeah, yeah.
So, pants off. Warm yourself up.
Keep your jacket on.
Just put pressure on,
just quickly on your skis.
Quickly, off again...
[BEEP]
[STARTING BEEPS AND SHOUTING]
Push, push.
Push, push.
Good. Ok, let's get ready
by putting your skis on
[STARTING BEEPS AND SHOUTING]
Alishah
[STARTING BEEPS]
[MUSIC]
Go, Alishah.
Come on. Three, four. Good.
Forward. Woop. Come on.
[CHEERING]
Ah Sajjad, go!
Come on. Push. Keep going.
You lost about twenty-two
seconds each run.
Each run?
Yeah.
Twenty-two.
More than twenty-two.
Well if you would lose just
about ten seconds that's okay.
Even twelve, fourteen...
But twenty-two is quite a lot.
Twenty-two is quite a lot.
You can picnic on the way down.
[LAUGHING]
Try and stop for
a coffee somewhere.
I would risk a little
more because you can ski.
When you ski freely
you go like crazy.
Just don't think too much.
Just ski, yeah?
Good evening, coaches.
I would like to welcome you
in the name of the FIS
and hope that we will all enjoy
a successful and
accident-free event
here in Folgaria.
Thank you.
[CHEERING IN BACKGROUND]
Warm yourself up a little bit.
Don't go too stiff
into the turn.
Release first and
then on the edge.
Release and then on the edge.
[STARTING BEEPS]
Alishah.
Attack! Go for it, go for it.
Come on, wake up!
Come on, Sajjad.
Go.
[CHEERING]
[STARTING BEEPS AND SHOUTING]
Come on!
[STARTING BEEPS]
Alishah, go! Come on.
Come on.
Come on, fight.
[MUSIC BUILDS]
Come on, Sajjad. Go, go.
Go, Sajjad, Go. Come on.
Come on.
This is going to be hell.
Maybe if a helicopter take
me down, I don't know,
I may get on the podium.
Otherwise, there is no chance.
You know, that's the way it is.
Maybe of these
ninety people here,
ten go home happy, and the other
ones are going home unhappy.
For this season, over.
I cannot be sad
or unhappy because
this is the condition I am.
I am happy that I
tried all my best.
Well, technically I'm not sure
if we can get qualified,
with the result we had
from our last race.
But perhaps there is a chance
that they let us
go and participate.
[CAMERA CLICK]
Kabul has been thrown into chaos
as a suicide bomber detonated on
a busy street in
the Afghan capital.
At least 95 people were killed,
with the Taliban claiming
responsibility for the attack,
their second this week.
Last Saturday, they stormed a
major international hotel,
with gunmen killing 22 people.
Nine employees of Afghan
airline Kam Air were killed,
grounding all internal
flights in the country.
These attacks are
another sign of an
increasing Taliban
presence in Afghanistan,
as they once again wrestle
for control from the government.
[ANIMAL NOISES]
[PHONE RINGS]
Someone has to start,
and someone has to take all
this pressure on their shoulders
so it becomes easier
for the next one.
This is difficult, but I have to
open a hope for the
next generation,
for the young people
in Afghanistan.
[MUSIC]
We work a lot during
this past four years,
and we know how to ski and
we are the best of the country.
You know, me and Sajjad are the
best skiers from the country,
because we worked hard.
But it is not a good feeling
not to reach your goal.
I would like to
train for another
Olympics if it there
is opportunity,
but for me, the conditions are
getting harder to
train as an athlete
[MUSIC]
[CHEERS AND LAUGHING]
For myself personally, it
has been a great journey this.
We didn't know anything
about the ski racing,
but now we know.
We can bring it to
some other people,
and inspire some people,
and motivate some
people to do good.
[LAUGHING AND CLAPPING]