In the summer of 2001, Emmy and BAFTA award-winning wildlife cameraman Ian McCarthy travelled to northern Afghanistan to film an expedition to the remote Lapis Lazuli mines in the Hindu Kush. More used to filming wildlife than war zones, Ian was smuggled across a closed border, walked through minefields, battled bedbugs and fleas, and was held at gunpoint, yet he found deep kindness and generosity in the Afghan people.
During the trip, he filmed the final interview with warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud, just days before his assassination. Two weeks later, on September 11, Ian flew to the U.S. for another assignment, landing as the Twin Towers fell.
This talk is a personal account of two extraordinary journeys unfolding on the edge of history. Illustrated with striking photographs and readings from Ian’s soon-to-be-published memoir, A Thousand Wild Dawns, he reflects on adventure, danger, and the unexpected humanity found in the world’s most turbulent places.
