60 min/color/DCP/Spoken languages: Afghan/Subtitles in:English

Short synopsis:

A story of war, love, life and death, it is an unprecedented look at these elite fighters, and the hopes and dreams they have rarely spoken of until now.

Synopsis:

A group of Afghan Commodes fighting Taliban for a better Afghanistan. Nights of high tension in the battle against an invisible enemy. Four soldiers, who seal their fate to one another, ready for death at any time. Unexpected accounts of longing and of love from steal formed fighters, in the midst of an unforgivable war. And finally death awaiting the bravest of the group. An unprecedented journey in the private heart of the Afghan Army, never told before.

Director's statement

My research for 'Afghanistan nights' begins with a warning from my friends and colleagues. „You can't make this film“, they told me, when I first spoke to them about the idea to shoot a documentary about a group of Afghan Commodes engaged in the military fight against the Taliban. „You can't because you are a girl. They won't allow you“, they said. But I started to film, against all odds and trying control my own fear. What motivated me was the answer to the question what it takes to fight the Taliban and what persons are doing this kind of job. Before 'Afghanistan Nights' Stories I had exclusively worked on films about women in the Afghan society, females as hidden heroes in our society. As war goes on, I am trying to understand the other face of the medal: who are the ones who sacrifice their lives for us to live in peace?

It was an unusual and challenging way to get accepted by a group of male Commodes , who did not know anything about film and seemed to reject me at first. It was only after long weeks/months of intense talks and observations, that I could finally persuade to follow these men as a woman with my team. Just the way to their camp contained a series of dangers. But as my protagonits opened up and gave into the exotism of the situation, a authentic confidence grow between us. So that with the time they would accept me, begin to confess their hopes and dreams, and their love stories to me. A love story told in a situation of war is like a secret you give insight to. Any man would probably not have gotten the answer I got  I was hoping that, at some point, the mood changed and they would melt up and tell me their story. It finally happened, in a unique coincidence. Following four special forces also confronted me with death as never before in my life. One of the protagonists died in a firefight with insurgents as we were shooting the film. The relation with the group got more intense and more emotional. A driving force for me was to show to the world and to my own people a film that not only deals with foreign forces coming to Afghanistan. After 2014, it is the Afghan forces that wage the war against the Taliban above all. But nobody so far has discovered the story behind their lives. I wanted to do the obvious, the unique thing. It turned out to be a very rewarding experience. I overcame my own prejudices. -- I became friends with soldiers I had wrong perceiptions about in the beginning. It also made me stronger as a woman, after all of my previous films treated about women's condition and women's human rights. With me, a dedicated team has shot this first film of an Afghan female director and its personal view on this war. women's human rights. With me, a dedicated team has shot this first film of an Afghan female director and its personal view on this war.