PORTLAND, OR, April 18, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Today, Armen and Mikai Karl, the father and son video division, for Suite 4 departed for Afghanistan. After a long wait for their Journalist visas that lasted during the lead up to the recent Afghanistan Presidential election on April 5th, this duo hopes to create several mini documentary-style films about Afghanistan.
"Rather than focusing on the conflict (which is already what we hear about in the media almost daily)," says Mikai, the team's lead filmmaker and also a graduating senior in the Delphian School's class of 2014, "we want to focus on the people, its culture and highlight the good things happening over there."
The trip is officially being sponsored by Suite 4. Some of the other sponsors for the trip are two McMinnville-based companies, Chrysalis Coffee and Stastny Gallery, as well as Honest Foodie in Portland, two California-based companies: Chimney Safety Experts and Heart-Fueled Giants, and a variety of friends and family.
The team leaves for its two-week trip on Wednesday, April 16th. After a stopover in D.C. and a long layover in Dubai, the team will land in Kabul on Friday, the 18th. From there they will be hosted by husband and wife faculty members of Atarud School in Kabul, Afghanistan: Kristy Ann Rahimi (an American) and her husband Jan Rahimi (an Afghan).
Atarud is an American English Language Academy based in Kabul whose mission dovetails perfectly with the Suite 4 mission. Atarud's mission is to help the Afghan students study English to bring about positive changes and help make Afghanistan into an educated and advanced country.
In addition to filming the Atarud school and helping them gain more exposure, the team hopes to visit many sights -- among them, the stunning Shrine of Hazrat Ali, also known as the Blue Mosque, a mosque located in the heart of Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan.
"We'd love to see and experience as much as we can while we're over there so that we can bring back a ton of footage and make several smaller films on different aspects of the culture," says lead Editor and assistant filmmaker, Armen. High on their list is also a trek into the Himalayas.
"We really want to thank all of our sponsors, without whom this trip would not be possible," says Suite 4 Principal (and wife and mother of the team), Rachel Karl, who is anxiously awaiting their safe return.
The team is loaded with camera equipment (of course) as well as gifts for the locals they meet along the way, including Chiclets and Chocolate. Karl says they're already planning trips to South America, Iceland, Morocco and other parts of the world to highlight some of the good things groups around the globe are doing. Who knows? Maybe "Chiclets and Chocolate" will become a recurring theme for this growing company's film trips!
To follow the Suite 4 Afghanistan adventure, keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates and highlights HERE.
Not just another marketing agency. Suite 4 is on a mission to use our business as a force for good in the world. We give back 5% of our quarterly profits to both local and global betterment organizations and to any projects that promote social betterment.
# # #