Director Jawed Wassel was killed by his U.S. partner in October 2001, following the 9-11 attacks

Additional reporting By Mutiullah Tayeb, IOL Afghan Correspondent

KABUL, December 31 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – For the first time, an Afghan movie competes with 53 international films to win the Oscar prize for best foreign movie, to be finally declared in March 2003.

"Fire Dancer" is directed by Jawed Wassel, who was killed by his U.S. partner in Nathan Powell October 2001, before giving the movie its final touches.

The film narrates the lives of Afghan migrants in the United States.

Only a few months ago, the film's assistant-director Weeda Zhahir Khadim finished the movie, and it was shown on Afghani cinemas last September.

"The Afghan film officials were deeply moved by the film, the story and standard of direction, so they decided to present it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which handles the Oscar prizes," Khadem said Sunday, December 29, on the Persian Firda Radio.

As regards the story, Khadem, who studied fine arts in George Mason University in Virginia, U.S., said; "Fire Dancer is a philosophical, poetic movie that touches on the lives of Afghan migrants in the United States. That is handled through the life of a couple of young Afghanis, their pains away from homeland, and their confusion about their identity and sense of cultural belonging." 

The film reflects the clash of cultures and the search for an identity.

The murdered Afghan director took 5 years to finish writing the story, following his return from a visit to the Afghani capital Kabul in 1995. It moved him deeply to see the ruins of a place where he enjoyed a great childhood.

Just like all other fields of life in Afghanistan, the cinema industry is devastated by two and a half decades of conflicts and wars. During the Taliban rule, from 1996 till 2001, film making was completely halted.

Police arrested Powell after finding body parts in his van and Wassel's head in a freezer and he was charged with second-degree murder.

They found body parts of Wassel, 42, in two cardboard boxes in the back of a van driven by Powell.

Lt. Frank Guidice, commanding officer of the homicide squad for the Nassau Country Police Department, said that he had invested in Wassel's film in exchange for 30 percent of the profits.

After a meeting with other investors Wassel turned with Powell to his apartment and told him he would pay him no more than 10 percent, CNN quoted Guidice as adding.

At that point, Powell became angry and struck Wassel with a pool cue, then stabbed him twice in the back and later dismembered the body, Guidice said.

However, Powell's lawyer said his client was schizophrenic and that he grew angry after Wassel blamed the United States for instigating the 11 September attacks, reported the BBC News Online on Tuesday, December 3.