EXCLUSIVE: Deadline can reveal a first clip for Taliban documentary Hollywoodgate ahead of its world premiere in Venice on Thursday, which will be followed by a screening in Telluride.
The ascent to power of the Taliban in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2021 sent shock waves across the country and the world.
More than 1.6 million people are reported to have fled the country since the fundamentalist regime returned to revive the draconian rule of its first term in power from 1996 to 2001.
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Egyptian filmmaker and journalist Ibrahim Nash’at’s audacious documentary gives unprecedented behind-the-scenes insight to their first year in power, following members of the regime as they take control of the abandoned U.S. base Hollywoodgate and figure out what to do with the cache of weaponry and technology that was left behind.
The film focuses on the new head of Afghanistan’s air force Malawi Mansour – whose father was killed by the Americans – and Mukhtar, a former Taliban fighter, with ambitions to rise through the military ranks.
Nash’at documents their efforts to reassemble and repair equipment left behind in a mission that will transform the regime’s military capabilities as they plot revenge on their enemies.
“When The Taliban came to power again, I was stunned. How could this happen? And what would now happen to the people of Afghanistan? It haunted me,” explains Nash’at in a director’s statement.
“Because of my background filming world leaders, I wondered if I could gain access to the Taliban. If so, I pledged that I would work independently: I would show the world what the Taliban wanted me to say, and also, more importantly, what I saw.”
Hollywoodgate is a Rolling Narratives production in association with Jouzour Film Production, Cottage M, RaeFilm Studios. It produced by Talal Derki (Of Fathers And Sons), Odessa Rae (Navalny), Shane Boris (Navalny, Fire Of Love, The Edge Of Democracy) and co-produced by Nash’at.
Global and North America sales are handled by United Talent Agency and international sales are handled by Cinephil.