<P> The film generated more controversy through the 30 - second rape scene, with threats made against the child actors, who originated from Afghanistan . Zekeria Ebrahimi, the 12 - year - old actor who portrayed Amir, had to be removed from school after his Hazara classmates threatened to kill him, and Paramount Pictures was eventually forced to relocate three of the children to the United Arab Emirates . Afghanistan's Ministry of Culture banned the film from distribution in cinemas or DVD stores, citing the possibility that the movie's ethnically charged rape scene could incite racial violence within Afghanistan . </P> <P> Four years after its publication, The Kite Runner was adapted as a motion picture starring Khalid Abdalla as Amir, Homayoun Ershadi as Baba, and Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada as Hassan . It was initially scheduled to premiere in November 2007, but the release date was pushed back six weeks to evacuate the Afghan child stars from the country after they received death threats . Directed by Marc Forster and with a screenplay by David Benioff, the movie won numerous awards and was nominated for an Academy Award, the BAFTA Film Award, and the Critics Choice Award in 2008 . While reviews were generally positive, with Entertainment Weekly deeming the final product "pretty good", the depiction of ethnic tensions and the controversial rape scene drew outrage in Afghanistan . Hangama Anwari, the child rights commissioner for the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, commented, "They should not play around with the lives and security of people . The Hazara people will take it as an insult ." </P> <P> Hosseini was surprised by the extent of the controversy caused by the rape scene and vocalized that Afghan actors would not have been cast had studios known that their lives would be threatened . He believed that the scene was necessary to "maintain the integrity" of the story, as a physical assault by itself would not have affected the audience as much . </P> <P> The novel was first adapted to the stage in March 2007 by Bay Area playwright Matthew Spangler where it was performed at San Jose State University . Two years later, David Ira Goldstein, artistic director of Arizona Theater Company, organized for it to be performed at San Jose Repertory Theatre . The play was produced at Arizona Theatre Company in 2009, Actor's Theatre of Louisville and Cleveland Play House in 2010, and The New Repertory Theatre of Watertown, Massachusetts in 2012 . The theatre adaption premiered in Canada as a co-production between Theatre Calgary and the Citadel Theatre in January 2013 . In April 2013, the play premiered in Europe at the Nottingham Playhouse, with Ben Turner acting in the lead role . </P>

Write a paragraph about the setting of the novel the kite runner