The documentary and war film, Hollywoodgate, by Egyptian director and filmmaker, Ibrahim Nash’at, has garnered recognition and was shortlisted for the 97th Academy Awards, known as the Oscars, in the Documentary Feature Film category.
Hollywoodgate documents in depth the Taliban’s resurgence following the United States’ (U.S.) withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, after a 20-year war that began with the September 11 attacks in 2001.
“With only my camera, I came to see in whose hands this country was left,” Nash’at says in the documentary’s trailer.
Based in Berlin, Egyptian documentary filmmaker Nash’at has built a diverse career in journalism, working with major international outlets like Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, and Business Insider.
The holder of a master’s degree in documentary filmmaking from the Met Film School also co-edited the Academy Award-nominated film Under the Sky of Damascus, which premiered at the Berlinale 2023 and won the Golden Alexander at the Thessaloniki Doc Festival.
Hollywoodgate, Nash’at’s first feature film, which premiered at both the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in 2023, explores themes of power dynamics, propaganda, and the aftermath of war.
“Nash’at risks life and limb to achieve the improbable,” according to the Film Stage.
During his childhood, the filmmaker witnessed many who saw the Taliban as heroes, a belief that he questioned, leading him to journalism.
“Since then, I have worked across the Middle East and Europe filming world leaders. Most of these people were men who merely wanted me to be a spokesperson for their perspective and an amplifier of their message,” according to the director’s statement.
“When the Taliban came to power (again), I was stunned. What would happen to the people of Afghanistan? It haunted me. Because of my background and professional experiences, I wondered if I could gain access to the Taliban. If so, this time I would show the world what they wanted me to see and, more importantly, what I saw.”
The film is centered on the Taliban reclaiming Kabul in August of 2021 and taking control of a US military base nicknamed, ‘Hollywoodgate,’ which had military equipment worth over USD 7.12 billion (EGP 360.6 billion), helping them transition from a militant group to a governing military regime.
It reveals how the Taliban has leveraged abandoned U.S. military equipment to strengthen their position while simultaneously showcasing the devastation inflicted upon the war-torn country, Afghanistan.
According to critics, the 92-minute documentary captures the “mundane mechanism” of power transfer in the most truthful and natural way, as the filmmaking uses natural lighting, handheld cameras, and natural sound.
The film acts as a commentary on the broader implications of U.S. military actions in Afghanistan, and questions the foreign policy of the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as well as the idea of a government invading and bombing other countries, leaving behind collateral damage, according to Nash’at.
Watching Hollywoodgate, viewers get to witness the Taliban’s operations firsthand. Nash’at stayed in Afghanistan for a whole year, following and filming a high-ranking commander and the head of the air forces of Taliban, a ground soldier at Kabul airbase, and the journey of the US weapons left behind, allowing the viewers access to the inner circle of the Taliban.
The viewers are forced to contemplate the impact of foreign intervention and to consider accountability and representation in documentary filmmaking.
Mawlawi Mansour, a Taliban fighter smiles at the camera and says, “If his intentions are bad, he will die soon,” referring to Nash’at.
His life is constantly threatened throughout the journey which comes with inherent risks. The tension remains palpable as Taliban members remind him of the consequences of unfavorable portrayals of them.
The documentary includes moments where Nash’at reflects on his dual role as a filmmaker and observer, showing himself filming in a mirror to highlight the complexities of documenting a tense environment.
Hollywoodgate was one of 15 selected films among 169 eligible submissions in the category, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed on 17 December.
The film invites viewers into an unvarnished exploration of power, conflict, and the unsettling aftermath of war, peeling back layers of propaganda to reveal a raw portrait of Afghanistan’s reality under Taliban rule.
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