Cinema was introduced to Afghanistan at the beginning of the 20th century. Political troubles, such as the 1973 Afghan coup d'état and the Saur Revolution 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.
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia, sometimes called "Asia-Pacific Oscars". In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures through the influential medium of cinema, it honours and promotes the films, actors, directors, and cultures of the Asia Pacific area to a worldwide audience.
Granaz Moussavi is an Iranian-Australian contemporary poet, film director and screenwriter. She is known for her avant-garde poetry in the 1990s. Her debut feature film My Tehran for Sale (2009) is an internationally-acclaimed Australian-Iranian co-production. Her second feature film When Pomegranates Howl was nominated for the 14th Asia Pacific Screen Award as the Best Youth Feature Film and was selected as Australian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards.
Mina Walking is a 2015 Canadian-Afghani Dari-language drama film written and directed by Yosef Baraki. It was screened in the Generation 14+ section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival where it competed for the Crystal Bear.
Hava, Maryam, Ayesha is a 2019 Afghan drama film directed by Sahraa Karimi. It was the first independent film shot in Afghanistan with an all-Afghan cast and crew.
Flee is a 2021 independent 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.
Pebbles is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by debutant P. S. Vinothraj. The film was produced by Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara under the Rowdy Pictures banner. Featuring music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the film had cinematography handled by Jeya Parthipan and Vignesh Kumulai and was edited by Ganesh Siva.
Rehana Maryam Noor is a 2021 Bangladeshi film. The film is directed by Abdullah Mohammad Saad and produced by Ehsanul Haque (Babu) under the banner of Metro Video and co-produced by Sensemakers Productions. The film is about the struggling life of a 37-year-old assistant professor of a medical college. It was internationally distributed by German-based sales and distribution company Films Boutique. In 2021, it was selected in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It is the first Bangladeshi film to be featured in this category. It was selected as the Bangladeshi entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. Rehana Maryam Noor bagged two awards at Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The director of the film Abdullah Mohammad Saad bagged the Jury Grand Prize and actress Azmeri Haque Badhon bagged award in Best Performance by an Actress category.
Playground is a 2021 Belgian drama film directed by Laura Wandel. In June 2021, the film was selected to compete in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes, it won the FIPRESCI Prize in the Un Certain Regard section.
Yuni is an internationally co-produced drama film, written and directed by Kamila Andini. It stars Arawinda Kirana in the title role.
The Gravedigger's Wife is a drama film, directed by Khadar Ayderus Ahmed and released in 2021. The film is a coproduction of companies from France, Somalia, Germany and Finland.
Clara Sola is a 2021 drama film directed by Nathalie Álvarez Mesén. It was selected as the Costa Rican entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film won the Georges Delerue Award for Best Soundtrack/Sound Design at Film Fest Gent in 2021.
The 14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards were held on 11 November 2021 in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Three Songs for Benazir is an Academy Award nominated 2021 Afghan-American documentary short film by Elizabeth Mirzaei and Gulistan Mirzaei.
