The Giant Buddhas

The Giant Buddhas
Directed byChristian Frei
Produced byChristian Frei
StarringTaysir Alony
Sayeed Mirza Hussain
Nelofer Pazira
Zémaryalaï Tarzi
Xuanzang
CinematographyPeter Indergand
Music byJan Garbarek
Philip Glass
Steve Kuhn
Arvo Pärt
Release date
  • September 10, 2005 (2005-09-10) (Toronto International Film Festival)
Running time
95 minutes
CountrySwitzerland
LanguagesArabic, Dari, English, French and Mandarin

The Giant Buddhas (2005) is a documentary film by Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei about the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan in Afghanistan by the Taliban in March 2001.[1]

The film premiered in August 2005 and was released in March 2006.[2] The movie quotes local Afghans that the destruction was ordered by Osama bin Laden and that initially, Mullah Omar and the Afghans in Bamyan had opposed the destruction.[3]

  1. ^ "Bamiyan Valley – Afghanistan".
  2. ^ "The Giant Buddhas". Swiss Films. August 1, 2005. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Times Internet Limited (2006) Times of India article, March 27, 2006. Retrieved October 16, 2006.