A poignant story about overcoming our demons and finding hope through darkness. Haunted by the affects of PTSD induced by fighting a war, the physical injuries that led to copious amounts of opiates, the emotional strain of his squad leader committing suicide, losing his best friend from overdosing on heroin, all combined with his drug addiction ultimately left Shawn losing all hope in life.
Afghan Heroin: The Lost War is a documentary which investigates how the war on terror in Afghanistan has unleashed heroin into the mainstream. Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs on Earth. Some 90 per cent of the drug is grown in Afghanistan and this hard hitting documentary investigates how the War on Terror has inadvertently unleashed a massive supply of the deadly drug. After the Western coalition troops started their hunt for terrorist Osama Bin Laden and his Taliban allies in late 2001, the country torn apart from decades of war once more became the world’s opium growing capital. Many impoverished farmers had no choice but to grow the opium poppy to feed their families. The documentary delve into the devastating effects of addiction that includes shocking scenes of a young Norwegian couple hustling, scoring and shooting up several times a day in order to appease the monster inside them.
The story of Shaista, a young man who—newly married to Benazir and living in a camp for displaced persons in Kabul—struggles to balance his dreams of being the first from his tribe to join the Afghan National Army with the responsibilities of starting a family. Even as Shaista’s love for Benazir is palpable, the choices he must make to build a life with her have profound consequences.
Documentary showing the backstage of production of Samira Makhmalbaf's film Panj É Asr(At Five in the Afternoon), in Kabul, after the fall of the Taliban regime. Everything was recorded with a small digital camera by Samira's 14-year-old sister Hana.
Longe de Cabul
With Afghan Spring, Noriaki Tsuchimoto widened his focus to the international arena. Working in collaboration with his compatriot, Hiroko Kumagai, and Afghan film-maker, Abdul Latif, he examined society and politics in Afghanistan af the time of the Soviet withdrawal. The film now serves as a valuable record of a culture partially destroyed soon after by the Taleban regime.
Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.
An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.
A group of Kuchi children are living in a minefield around Bagram airfield, Afghanistan. They dig out anti-personal mines in order to sell the explosives to child workers mining in a Lappis Lazulli mine. The trajectory of the blue precious stones goes towards Tajikistan and China, through an area controlled by child soldiers. When they are not waging their own mini-wars in the daily madness of life in Afghanistan, the children are fleeing away in their personal fantasies and dreams, while the American soldiers are planning their retreat...
This documentary on the effect the talent competition "Afghan Star" has on the incredibly diverse inhabitants of Afghanistan affords a glimpse into a country rarely seen. Contestants risk their lives to appear on the television show that is a raging success with the public and also monitored closely by the government.
When the Soviet troops entered Afghanistan in December 1979, Christophe de Ponfilly and Jérôme Bony made their first clandestine reportage in the Panjshir valley. "A valley against an empire" testifies to the beginning of the struggle of a young commander, Amah Shah Massoud.
Fidelis Cloer is a self-confessed war profiteer who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. It wasn't about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product.
Directors Hetherington and Junger spend a year with the 2nd Battalion of the United States Army located in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous valleys. The documentary provides insight and empathy on how to win the battle through hard work, deadly gunfights and mutual friendships while the unit must push back the Taliban.
The friendship between Christophe de Ponfilly and Commander Massoud, a legendary figure of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invader, goes back to the filmmaker's first film, "A Valley Against an Empire", made in 1981. Fifteen years later, weakened, isolated, betrayed by many of his own, the "Lion of Panshir" has not surrendered to his new and implacable enemies, the Taliban. While preparing his next offensive, he evokes his commitment and his fights, and bears witness to a history in which he has been one of the main actors for twenty years. At the same time, the director questions the role and power of the media, as well as his own approach as a filmmaker. Commander Massoud was killed in an attack in September 2001.
Haji Omar and his three sons belong to the Lakankhel, a Pashtoon tribal group in northeastern Afghanistan. The film focuses on his family: Haji Omar, the patriarch; Anwar, the eldest, his father's favorite, a pastoralist and expert horseman; Jannat Gul, cultivator and ambitious rebel; and Ismail, the youngest, attending school with a view to a job as a government official.
In the year following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, young journalist Claude Baechtold finds himself in the war zone of Afghanistan. Not entirely voluntarily, the avowed anti-militarist is dragged by two fearless reporters on a round trip through the entire country.
In 1989, Swedish journalist, Khazar Fatemi narrowly fled the war torn country of Afghanistan with her life. Twenty years later, the former refugee returned to the place that has always remained in her heart. Where My Heart Beats follows Khazar's dangerous, painful, and inspirational journey back home to reconnect with the amazing people of this broken nation.
In the summer of 2001 the Taliban strategically captured 24 Shelter Now International Aid hostages that captured the attention of the world for more than three months. With representatives from the United States, Australia, Germany and Afghanistan, the Taliban set out to create an insurance policy against the pending attacks of September 11th. What transpired through their story was an overwhelming journey of faith, grace and endurance. Based on the true story as told by the captives, Kabul 24 captures the gantlet of their 105 days in captivity and the cruel treatment of the Muslim co-workers at the hands of the Taliban who accused them of converting to Christianity. Revisit their journey from the grueling interrogation to their sham "trial" before the Taliban Supreme Court, to the dangers endured during the bombing of Kabul and a crushing sense that the world had abandoned them.
CITIZEN SOLDIER is a dramatic feature film, told from the point of view of a group of Soldiers in the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known since World War II as the "Thunderbirds.” Set in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan at the height of the surge, it is a heart-pounding, heartfelt grunts' eye-view of the war. A modern day Band of Brothers, Citizen Soldier tells the true story of a group of young Soldiers and their life-changing tour of duty in Afghanistan, offering an excruciatingly personal look into modern warfare, brotherhood, and patriotism. Using real footage from multiple cameras, including helmet cams, these Citizen Soldiers give the audience an intimate view into the chaos and horrors of combat and, in the process, display their bravery and valor under the most hellish of conditions.
Immediately after the US pullout from Afghanistan, Taliban forces occupied the Hollywood Gate complex, which is claimed to be a former CIA base in Kabul.