Afghanistan: From Ground Zero to Ground Zero

Traces: The Kabul Museum 1988

The Kabul National Museum, once known as the "face of Afghanistan," was destroyed in 1993. We filmed the most important cultural treasures of the still-intact museum in 1988: ancient Greco-Roman art and antiquitied of Hellenistic civilization, as well as Buddhist sculpture that was said to have mythology--the art of Gandhara, Bamiyan, and Shotorak among them. After the fall of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan in 1992, some seventy percent of the contents of the museum was destroyed, stolen, or smuggled overseas to Japan and other countries. The movement to return these items is also touched upon. The footage in this video represents that only film documentation of the Kabul Museum ever made.

Writing Hawa

Afghan documentary maker Najiba Noori offers not only a loving and intimate portrait of her mother Hawa, but also shows in detail how the arduous improvement of the position of women is undone by geopolitical violence. The film follows the fortunes of Noori’s family, who belong to the Hazaras, an ethnic group that has suffered greatly from discrimination and persecution.

Another Afghanistan: Kabul Diary 1985

The daily life of the citizens of Kabul during the civil war: the bazaar, mosques, the literacy movement awarded honors by UNESCO, women's education, and English school. Scenes of live and self-defense in nearby farm villages. The lives of war orphans. And a new holiday-the anniversary of the revolution, seen in the faces of the 200,000 people gathered to celebrate. This is a document of the only "democratic republic" in the West.

Afghanistan: War without End?

Key decision makers reveal the inside story of how the West was drawn ever deeper into the Afghan war. Reporter John Ware charts the history of a decade of fighting and looks at when the conflict may end.

Afghanistan: The Battle for Helmand

Mark Urban tells the inside story of Britain's fight for Helmand, told with unique access to the generals and frontline troops who were there.

O Refúgio

A Cooler Climate

In 1960, acclaimed filmmaker James Ivory traveled to Afghanistan to shoot scenes for a documentary that was never completed. In 2022, he decided to revisit this unique footage, which takes him back to his adventurous youth.

The Hornet's Nest

Armed only with their cameras, Peabody and Emmy Award-winning conflict Journalist Mike Boettcher, and his son, Carlos, provide unprecedented access into the longest war in U.S. history: they are embed with U.S. troops during nine days of intense combat in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan's Opium Trail

Over 90% of the world's opium now comes from Afghanistan. In this shocking new film, we ride the drugs caravan, from cultivation, to process, to market. On route, we lift the curtain on the hidden world of the drug barons; learn how to process heroin in the crudest of laboratories and encounter deadly gunfights on the Iranian border.

The Prince of Nothingwood

French documentarist Sonia Kronlund follows actor and director Salim Shaheen, an Afghan movie star who produced more than 110 low-budget movies in a country devastated by war.

No Book This Year

"No Book This Year" tells the story of Yalda, a former staff member of Afghanistan's booth at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Years after the booth's closure, Yalda takes it upon herself to independently relaunch Afghanistan's presence at the fair. Despite numerous challenges and obstacles, her unwavering determination to showcase Afghan literature and culture shines through, illustrating the resilience of the human spirit in preserving cultural heritage.

White Silk Road: Snowboarding Afghanistan

Australian riders Clint Allan, Mitch Allan and Nick Gregory make a once-in-a-lifetime journey to ride untouched awe-inspiring mountains, and experience the rich culture, in one of the most remote and dangerous parts of the world.

Afghan Star

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.

Three Songs for Benazir

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.

Taxi to the Dark Side

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.

Afghanistan. Edges of War

10 years of continuous combat operations in Afghanistan. Around half a million of soviet military men went through this war. more than 14,000 soldiers and officers gave their lives fulfilling the international duty. more than 50 thousand were woun­ded. the wound inflicted by this war on an entire generation has not healed even 30 years later. there have been many attempts to tell the story of this war. but it is quite another thing to see it through the eyes of commanders. there were seven of them in those ten years. the legendary commanders of the 40th army, a magnificent seven who accomplished the impossible.

Tell Spring Not to Come This Year

When NATO troops withdrew from Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army (ANA) took over control of Helmand Province, an extremely dangerous region where attacks by Taliban fighters are the order of the day. Security, much less peace, would seem to be unattainable; it is even difficult to find a common language in a country where everyone mistrusts each other. The directors of this film accompanied an ANA company during a year of frontline duty in Helmand. The soldiers are paid irregularly, there are not enough supplies and their equipment is substandard. They cannot fight a war with the equipment left behind by the ISAF.

The Secret War

Controversal documentary focusing on events in Afghanistan in 2002 in which Danish soldiers handed over prisoners to the US Army even though USA no longer treated prisoners of war according to the Geneva Convention. Further, the film questions the Danish Prime Minister's reasons for getting Denmark involved in the so-called War Against Terrorism in Afghanistan in the first place.

Afghanistan Unveiled

Filmed by the first-ever team of women video journalists trained in Afghanistan, this uncompromising film reveals the effects of the Taliban's repressive rule and U.S.-sponsored bombing campaign on Afghan women.

Five Scenes from the War in Afghanistan as They Appear in East Sussex

In a greenhouse in England, a military veteran talks about his experiences as a soldier in Afghanistan. Clement Boland served with the British Army in Helmand Province for more than ten years and has suffered from PTSD since his return. His therapy now consists of gardening. In five insightful scenes, he talks about how the landscapes of East Sussex and Afghanistan keep intertwining because of his repeated reliving of memories of the war. One image he can’t get out of his mind is of an Afghan man who “looked like Jesus.” Clement wasn’t the one who fired the shot, but he feels guilt nonetheless.