Oscar Nomination for Episcopal Academy Alum

NEWTOWN SQUARE–Sam French, a 1994 Episcopal Academy graduate, earned an Oscar nomination in the live-action short film category for the critically acclaimed film Buzkashi Boys that he directed and co-wrote. Set against the dramatic landscape of contemporary Afghanistan, Buzkashi Boys tells the coming-of-age story of two best friends, a charismatic street urchin and a defiant blacksmith ́s son, who strive to realize their dreams as they make their way to manhood in one of the most war-torn countries on Earth.

The Oscar-nominated film was shot entirely on location in Kabul by an alliance of Afghan and international filmmakers. French moved to Kabul in 2008 to follow his girlfriend, who had taken a job with the British Embassy. Expecting to be hunkered down in a bunker for the duration, he instead found a culturally complex country full of stories. In 2009, inspired by the people and places he had come to love, he collaborated with Martin Roe to write Buzkashi Boys, seeking to show that even in Afghanistan, a country wracked by war, the hope of a better life connects us all.

The Oscars will be handed out at this weekend's 85th annual Academy Awards ceremony.

Read about French and his film here and watch the film's trailer in the video section of this article.

This press release was provided by The Episcopal Academy.