Buzkashi Boys

Set against the dramatic landscape of contemporary Afghanistan and the National sport of Buzkashi - a brutal game of horse polo played with a dead goat - Buzkashi Boys tells the coming of age story of two best friends, a charismatic street urchin and a defiant blacksmith's son, who struggle to realize their dreams as they make their way to manhood in one of the most war-torn countries on Earth. Shot on location in Kabul city by an alliance of Afghan and international film makers, Buzkashi Boys is a look at the life that continues beyond the headlines of war in Afghanistan.

Peter Howell: Buzkashi Boys (Sam French): A sort of Prince and the Pauper tale set in bleak modern Afghanistan. First-time actors Fawad Mohammadi and Jawanmard Paiz are blacksmith’s son Rafi and street kid Ahmad, who share a common dream of one day playing buzkashi, a polo sport that uses a dead sheep as a ball. Well-acted but lacking in direction.

Steve Pond: Another short that uses local performers, some of whom had never acted before, "Buzkashi Boys" is part of an initiative from a nonprofit organization devoted to boosting Afghanistan's film industry and telling Afghan stories. Its lead characters are two young boys who become obsessed with the brutal sport of buzkashi, a type of polo that substitutes a sheep carcass for a ball.

The film is a stark, rich look into another culture that moves at a slow, contemplative pace despite the frenzy and violence of the game it depicts. Like "Asad," its strength lies more in its window-into-another-world aspect than its cinematic flair.

My take:
Likeliest winners: "Death of a Shadow," "Curfew"
If voters go for the real world: "Asad," "Buzkashi Boys"
If "Amour" creates a bandwagon effect: "Henry"