What We Left Unfinished

A fascinating documentary about the unfinished film history of Afghanistan during the turbulent 1980s, when film became a battleground for Communist propagandists.

In this beautiful documentary Mariam Ghani opens the doors to the Afghan film archive, presenting restored clips from films presumed destroyed during the country’s violent history. Ghani keeps the camera rolling as we move through breathtaking, palatial rooms that once constituted the heart of the Afghan film industry, meeting directors once tossed between different political camps in a fluctuating political landscape. In between anecdotes about censorship and Communist war propaganda featuring live ammunition, a fascinating record emerges about the power of film and art shackled by politics.

• Olle Agebro