2021’s Tragic Turn: The Fall of Afghanistan

Discover the gripping story of Afghanistan’s tragic descent in 2021 as the Taliban seized control, leaving behind a trail of suffering, abandoned U.S. military equipment, and a nation plunged into darkness. Explore the untold realities of life under the new regime.

The World Watches Afghanistan Tragic Fall to the Taliban

In August 2021 and with the Taliban advancing into Kabul, the desperate scene was a multitude fleeing Afghanistan. Just as they had been driven out again by the post-9/11 invasion, the Taliban, encouraged by Washington’s agreed withdrawal of US forces, regrouped and deposed the elected government. 

Amid the mayhem, Egyptian journalist and filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at sought to enter the country to capture its new reality. After a bit of a struggle, he was granted permission to remain in Afghanistan for a year to chronicle the life and times of the just-assigned Commander of the Air Force, Malawi Mansour, and one of his young Talib lieutenants, MJ Mukhtar, full of dreams of becoming an air force member and avenging his honor against the Americans.

Filming Amid Uncertainty.

This resulted in a documentary, Hollywoodgate, named after the abandoned CIA military base in which much of the filming took place, that gives a thumbnail sketch insight into this new era under Taliban rule.

What is it like for a filmmaker having such a regime known for execution and repression? He was asked many times to stop filming, yet he got just enough to weave the story of transition into the one he had. The documentary exposes the remains of the American troop life and the $7 billion stockpile of weapons left by the US, among them about 73 aircraft and 100 military vehicles. The US military command even stated that this equipment was rendered unusable, but Nash’at filmed repairs and tests that showed clear contradictions to this claim. 

Shocking Discoveries and Escaping Afghanistan

There were huge amounts of military equipment abandoned, surprising Nash’at. And with the name of the base as a trigger, “Hollywoodgate,” he made a movie that depicts the absurdity of the situation: American military remnants that run tents occupied by the Taliban. 

His movie concludes with a military parade at Bagram Air Base where US weaponry was presented before diplomatic visitors from Russia, China, Pakistan, and Iran. He then fled the country last September after receiving another order to turn over his person and all footage to intelligence agents. Knowing how dangerous it was, he fled Afghanistan, with the realization that if he had stayed, the worst could have been the result. 

The Journalist’s Perspective

He wonders why he went into Afghanistan when others were running in the opposite direction. He wanted to do a story that had pretty much vanished at the international level. His previous experience filming with world leaders gave him access, and Hollywoodgate is co-produced by Canadian Odessa Rae, whose Navalny, about the Oscar-winning documentary. 

Even for Nash’at himself, the name Hollywoodgate is charged with meaning regarding how well the Taliban have understood the significance of propaganda and the defeat of US-led occupation in Afghanistan. Although the documentary faced restrictions due to the control the Taliban had over what could be filmed, Nash’at hopes that he has raised vital questions within audiences and has spurred them to search for answers. 

Portrayal of Ordinary Afghans and the Impact on Women

‘Hollywoodgate’ shows the Afghans from a distance, from a car or a truck window and never from a close-up. There is almost no women’s presence with an exception of a few shots when they are seem appearing in the background. One of the shots where a woman in a burqa, is seated within an icy road is a depiction of the hard conditions for women under the Taliban rule. 

Since the time when the Taliban appeared in the country, life for many women changed dramatically. They started to be expelled from secondary schools and university exams and became confined to their work, says Nash’at. These are horrible things to watch and to imagine the level of poverty that has been reached in Afghanistan. 

Wondering at Afghanistan Suffering

Nash’at expresses his sorrow about Afghanistan. This country has been forgotten by almost everybody in the world.

The pain of the Afghans has a stickier effect on him; the ones that instil fear more in his being is that of the women. 

He conceded that what he went through in the making of the film was nothing compared to the everyday suffering of every Afghani. Nash’at just hopes that his documentary will bring attention to their plight as it will begin to educate the larger populace on the real intentions of the Taliban and the tragic aftermath of their rule.