Saving Mes Aynak

"Saving Mes Aynak" follows the attempt of Afghan archaeologists to save Mes Aynak, an ancient Buddhist city in Afghanistan, from destruction by a Chinese copper mine. The archaeological dig, the largest and most expensive in the world, is racing to complete excavation by next year. A Chinese mining company will destroy the site and mountain range to exploit over 100 billion dollars worth of copper buried there. Filmed from July 2011 to the present, this documentary is a mix of cinema vérité footage, interviews and animation, and like a classic unnarrated vérité film, it allows the characters to tell their own stories.