Films from and about Afghanistan
After nearly 20 years of war, US Armed Forces are withdrawing from Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Taliban forces are re-taking control of the country. This week, we bring you films from and about Afghanistan, telling the stories of ordinary people, which have too often been overshadowed by the conflict.
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)
The story of young Afghan girls learning to read, write and skateboard in Kabul.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2019
- Director Carol Dysinger
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy
Midnight Traveler
An intimate portrait of the search for safety and freedom.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States • 2019
- Director Hassan Fazili
- Cast Hassan Fazili, Fatima Hussaini, Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
A Thousand Girls Like Me
A courageous young Afghan woman forces her father to stand trial for years of sexual abuse.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan, France, Netherlands • 2018
- Director Sahra Mani
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Kanopy
Angels Are Made of Light
A portrait of Afghan students and their teachers weathering national turbulence.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Denmark, Norway, United States • 2018
- Director James Longley
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Tubi TV, Hoopla
The Breadwinner
An enchanting story of a brave young girl who puts her life at risk to provide for her family.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ireland, Canada, Luxembourg • 2017
- Director Nora Twomey
- Cast Saara Chaudry, Soma Bhatia, Laara Sadiq, Shaista Latif, Ali Badshah, Noorin Gulamgaus
- Genre Animation, Drama, Family, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Frame by Frame
Four Afghan photojournalists attempt to reframe their country in the post-Taliban photo revolution.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan • 2015
- Director Alexandria Bombach, Mo Scarpelli
- Cast Massoud Hossaini, Wakil Kohsar, Najibullah Mosafer, Farzana Wahidy
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Hoopla
Neither Heaven Nor Earth
(Ni le ciel, ni la terre)
As the withdrawal of troops approaches, Captain Antarès Bonassieu and his squad have been assigned a surveillance mission in a remote valley of Wakhan, on the border of Pakistan
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Belgium • 2015
- Director Clément Cogitore
- Cast Jérémie Renier, Swann Arlaud, Kevin Azais, Marc Robert
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Film Movement Plus, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Freevee, Cineverse, Kanopy, Hoopla, Plex, Plex Channel
Sonita
An Afghan girl, her passion for music, and her parents’ plan to sell her hand in marriage for $9,000.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Switzerland, Iran • 2015
- Director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami
- Cast Sonita Alizadeh, Ahmad Ahmadi, Latifah Alizadeh, Fadia Alizadeh, Arefe, Farzaneh Davoodi
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on No streaming locations found.
The Patience Stone
(Syngué sabour, pierre de patience)
A woman in an unnamed, war-torn Middle Eastern country delivers an engrossing, emotional monologue to her comatose husband.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan, France, Germany • 2013
- Director Atiq Rahimi
- Cast Golshifteh Farahani, Hamid Djavadan, Hassina Burgan, Massi Mrowat, Mohamed Al Maghraoui, Malak Djaham Khazal
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Afghan Star
Contestants risk their lives to become the next "Afghan Star".
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2009
- Director Havana Marking
- Cast Habib Amiri, Setara Hussainzada, Rafi Naabzada, Lima Sahar
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on GuideDoc, Apple TV, Kanopy, Hoopla
Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame
(بودا از شرم فرو ریخت)
A young girl in Afghanistan desperately wants to go to school and learn to read and write, but isn’t allowed to.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran, France, Afghanistan • 2007
- Director Hana Makhmalbaf
- Cast Habbas Alijome, Abdolali Huseinali, Nikbakht Noruz
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Osama
In Afghanistan, a teenaged girl dresses as a boy so she can work to support her mother and grandmother.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Afghanistan, Ireland, Japan • 2003
- Director Siddiq Barmak
- Cast Marina Golbahari, Arif Herati, Zubaida Sahar, Mohammad Nadir Khwaja, Khwaja Nader
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, fuboTV, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV
In This World
Jamal and his older cousin Enayat embark on a hazardous overland trip from their refugee camp at Peshawar, north-west Pakistan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2002
- Director Michael Winterbottom
- Cast Jamal Udin Torabi, Enayatullah, Imran Paracha
- Genre Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.