Sergio is a 2009 documentary film based on Samantha Power's biography, Sergio: One Man's Fight to Save the World. The film revolves around the story of United Nations diplomat, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, who worked for the UN for more than 34 years and was ultimately killed in the Canal Hotel bombing in Iraq on August 19, 2003. The work includes extensive interviews with William von Zehle, a U.S. Army First Sergeant in 2003, who spent hours trying to rescue de Mello from under a 9m stack of concrete and other debris of the collapsed building.
Christian Frei is a Swiss filmmaker and film producer. He is mostly known for his films War Photographer (2001), The Giant Buddhas (2005) and Space Tourists (2009).
Cinema was introduced to Afghanistan at the beginning of the 20th century. Political troubles slowed the industry over the years; however, numerous Pashto and Dari films have been made both inside and outside Afghanistan throughout the 20th century. The cinema of Afghanistan entered a new phase in 2001, but has failed to recover to its popular pre-war status.
Stephen Kijak is an American film director. He is known for films about music and musicians, most notably the feature documentaries Scott Walker – 30 Century Man (2006), Stones in Exile (2010), We Are X (2016), If I Leave Here Tomorrow (2018), and Sid & Judy (2019). His collaborators and subjects include such musical legends and icons as David Bowie, Scott Walker, The Rolling Stones, Jaco Pastorius, Rob Trujillo, Backstreet Boys, X Japan, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Judy Garland, and The Smiths.
Binger Filmlab, formerly the Maurits Binger Film Institute, is an Amsterdam-based international feature-film and documentary development centre where screenwriters, directors, producers and script editors from around the world can be coached and supported by mentors and advisors.
Malek Shafi’i is a film director, producer, festival organiser, and human rights activist from Afghanistan.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 is a concert documentary film featuring the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The film follows the band on the first leg of their Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in February and March 2008, during which they travelled on their own customised Boeing 757, Ed Force One, which used the call-sign "666".
Kabul Dreams is a rock band from Afghanistan, established in 2008 in Kabul. The band consists of Sulyman Qardash, Siddique Ahmed (bassist) and Jai Dhar (drummer). The band is managed by Alykhan Kaba. Kabul Dreams has paved the way for a modest but growing rock scene in Afghanistan, rebuilding itself after decades of war. The band’s motivation to perform came from their own love for music, but also from a public hunger for a new life after war – a life that included new music and art.
The Boxing Girls of Kabul is a 2012 Canadian documentary film directed by Ariel Nasr. The film follows young women boxers and their coach Sabir Sharifi at Afghanistan’s female boxing academy, as these athletes face harassment and threats in their efforts to represent their country in international competition and attempt to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Anders Sømme Hammer is a Norwegian documentarian and journalist.
District Unknown was a psychedelic metal band from Kabul, Afghanistan. Formed in 2009, it is thought to be the first heavy metal band from the region. After a number of changes, the band's final lineup Lemar and Qais decided to disband in 2019.
Shamsia Hassani is an Afghan graffiti artist, a fine arts lecturer, and the associate professor of Drawing and Anatomy Drawing at the Kabul University. She has popularized "street art" in the streets of Kabul and has exhibited her art in several countries including India, Iran, Germany, United States of America, Switzerland, Vietnam, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Italy, Canada, and in diplomatic missions in Kabul. Hassani paints graffiti in Kabul to bring awareness to the war years. In 2014, Hassani was named one of FP's top 100 global thinkers. She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021.
Radio Dreams is a 2016 American film by Iranian-born film director Babak Jalali. Inspired by a group of real life Iranian Metallica fans, calling themselves the Persian Magnetic, and the realities of expatriate life of the Iranian diaspora in the United States.
Penny Lane is an American independent filmmaker, known for her documentary films. Her humor and unconventional approach to the documentary form, including the use of archival Super 8 footage and YouTube videos, have earned her critical acclaim.
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. is a 2018 biographical documentary film about English rapper and artist M.I.A. Directed by Steve Loveridge, the film follows 22 years in the rapper's life, her rise to fame and her perspective on the controversies sparked over her music, public appearances and political activism.
Murder in the Front Row is a documentary film which chronicles the 1980s Bay Area thrash metal scene. The documentary premiered on April 20, 2019. Directed by Adam Dubin and produced by Jack Gulick and Rachèle Benloulou-Dubin, the film contains over fifty interviews with various metal stalwarts, and is told through a mix of first-person interviews, animation and narration by comedian Brian Posehn. The film was released on DVD and digitally on April 24, 2020.
Laila Haidari is an Afghan activist and restaurateur. She runs Mother Camp, a drug rehabilitation centre she founded in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2010. She also owns Taj Begum, a Kabul cafe that funds Mother Camp. Taj Begum is frequently raided because it breaks taboos; the cafe is run by a woman and allows unmarried men and women to eat together. Haidari is the subject of the 2018 documentary film Laila at the Bridge. She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2021.
The Afghan film festival in Australia was established in 2019 as an annual showcase of Afghan cinema in Australia. It takes place in Canberra and is jointly hosted by the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the ANU Film Group, at the Australian National University.
Flee is a 2021 adult animated documentary film directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen. An international co-production with Denmark, France, Norway, and Sweden, it follows the story of a man under the alias Amin Nawabi, who shares his hidden past of fleeing his home country of Afghanistan to Denmark for the first time. Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau serve as executive producers and narrators for the English-language dub version.
Three Songs for Benazir is an Academy Award nominated 2021 Afghan-American documentary short film by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei.
