NEW YORK, NY, March 23, 2012 – Film Annex, an online film distribution and financing platform, has recently launched the Afghan Development Project in collaboration with Citadel Software Company based in Afghanistan. The project’s mission is to show the world the new face of Afghanistan by broadcasting current event videos, interviews, and news clips as well as archival material directly from the Afghan Youth Development. Film Annex is also building free Internet classrooms at Afghani high schools in order to provide the students with free access to Internet, education, and technology.
Film Annex’s President, Francesco Rulli, first got introduced to Citadel Software Company and its CEO Roya Mahboob through a NATO documentary he watched on Film Annex. “Roya Mahboob is the face of the new Afghanistan,” Rulli explains. “She runs her own business, she drives her own car, is completely independent, and she has a great sense of humor. Having access to the Internet and education will open the eyes of the Afghani children and make them realize that they don’t have to be the victims of the Taliban and they have other choices and opportunities in life.”
Through its partnership with Citadel and Roya Mahboob, Film Annex will be supplying the necessary technology to the high schools. The initial goal is to build 40 new Internet classrooms with a total of 400 computers and reach 160,000 Afghani children. The first Internet stations will be built in Herat, Afghanistan and then will spread to other cities. In a recent United Nations interview, Rulli stated that the Afghan Development Project is a tech venture, and not a political one. The goal is to give the youth in Afghanistan the tools to progress and make their own decisions.
The Film Annex team will also be sending camera and sound equipment to Afghanistan in order to film the progress of the project. After establishing the first Internet classroom, the Film Annex partners in Afghanistan will be uploading documentaries and historical films that shows the culture of this country to the rest of the world, making the project an interactive and informative one. Rulli also mentioned that he sees Afghanistan as a land of opportunity for new business ventures and he wants the Afghan people to be conscious of the opportunities around them. With the Afghan Development Project, the West will see a new face of Afghanistan, and the Afghan people will get the chance to reveal their true culture and character. For more information, visit the Afghan Development Web TV.
About Film Annex
Film Annex is an online film distribution platform and Web Television Network with 220,000 registered users and over 1.5 million viewers a day. The company creates free Web TV channels for content providers and supports them financially through an ad-revenue sharing model. A meeting point for filmmakers, film festivals, film enthusiasts, companies, writers and organizations, Film Annex educates and entertains audiences by making meaningful, diverse, and high- quality films available to a global audience. For more information, visit www.filmannex.com.
About Citadel Software Company
Citadel designs and develops commodity software in an expeditious fashion, using talented in-house designers. The objectives of Citadel are to generate profit, grow at a challenging and manageable rate, and to be good citizens. The keys to success for Citadel is marketing and networking, as well as responsiveness, quality, and having a loyal customer base. The local market for software business in Afghanistan, while not new, is wide open for fresh and expanding consulting firms. Citadel customizes software for the individual needs of each client while providing training and a follow-up service. For more information, visit http://acitasoft.com.
CONTACT:
Eren Gulfidan
Film Annex
