The documentary "Retrograde", produced by National Geographic and broadcast in the United States at the beginning of December, follows an Afghan general who tried in vain to contain the advance of the Taliban in the summer of 2021. The film "In Her Hands: a destiny Afghan", already available on Netflix, tells the story of one of the youngest female mayors in Afghanistan, who had to flee the country when the Islamists took power.

"We forgot what happened" in Afghanistan, underlines the director of "Retrograde", Matthew Heineman.

"Not many people talk about this country we left behind," he laments.

Zarifa Ghafari, the former mayor of "In Her Hands", told AFP that under the rule of the Taliban, Afghanistan is "the only country in the world today where a woman can sell her body, her kids, whatever she wants, but can't go to school."

But, she laments, "Afghanistan is no longer the subject of discussion" in international diplomatic meetings.

Both films begin a few months before the withdrawal of American troops, as the protagonists attempt to build a better future for their country.

They end with the latter, forced to watch from abroad the Taliban destroy what they tried to build.

In "Retrograde", Afghan General Sami Sadat agreed to let Matthew Heineman's cameras follow him as he led operations to repel the Taliban after the Americans left a base in the south of the country.

American director Matthew Heineman near Los Angeles in October 2018 Mark RALSTON AFP/Archives

"All the signs were saying 'stop, give up, it's over', and he had this blind faith that maybe, just maybe, if he clung to (the city of) Lashkar Gah or (the province de) Helmand, they could defeat the Taliban, "recalls the director.

Sami Sadat finally had to flee in the chaos of Kabul airport in August 2021, filmed by the film crew, as Afghans massed at the gates, hoping to find a place in the last departing American planes.

"It was one of the hardest things I've witnessed in my career," said Matthew Heineman, Oscar nominee for 2015's 'Cartel Land'.

Targeting

Zarifa Ghafari survived assassination attempts and saw her father shot dead by the Taliban before she too left Afghanistan when the Islamists moved in.

"Speaking of this moment, I still can't stop crying...", says the elected official, who has drawn the ire of the Taliban by defending girls' access to education after being named mayor of Maidan Shahr, near Kabul, at 24.

The makers of "In Her Hands: An Afghan Destiny" have since returned to Afghanistan to film Massoum, Zarifa Ghafari's now unemployed driver, getting closer to the Taliban, even after they targeted his client in the past.

"Massoum's story is that of Afghanistan, where people feel betrayed," adds Zarifa Ghafari.

share their pain

Although the conflicts in Afghanistan and Ukraine are very different in nature, the two films offer a cautionary tale of what can happen when the West turns from one confrontation to another.

"Obviously this has happened throughout history and will continue to happen in the future. And so, what can we learn from this experience?"

asks Matthew Heineman.

"No matter what happens in Ukraine and what happened in Ukraine, we have been living the same thing as them for 60 years" in Afghanistan, says Zarifa Ghafari.

"We share their pain."

© 2022 AFP