Himself
According to the official history of Afghanistan, ruthless destruction has always prevailed over art and creation; but there is another tale to be told, the forgotten account of a diverse and progressive country, seen through the lens of innovative filmmakers, a story that survives thanks to a few brave Afghans, a small but very passionate group that secretly fought to save a huge film archive that was constantly menaced by war and religious fanaticism.
On August 15, 2021, Afghanistan descends into chaos. In one day, the completion of the withdrawal of Western forces precipitated the debacle of the regime in place: the army vanished, the leaders fled and the Taliban took Kabul without a fight. The great Central Asian country opens a new chapter in its tragic history, twenty years after the "war on terror" launched by George W. Bush in response to the attacks of September 11, 2001. The undisputed masters of 40 million trapped Afghans, the "students of religion" are back and are savoring their revenge by posing as the United States' victors. Their program will surprise no one: to restore the Islamic emirate and set up the "true" sharia, i.e. a perfect world, with divine commandments applied to the letter as in the time of the prophet.
A powerful and emotional new episode of ESPN E60 will look back 50 years to one of the darkest moments in sports history – the Munich Massacre, when Palestinian terrorists murdered 11 Israeli sportsmen at the 1972 Summer Olympics. E60 will tell the story of one Israeli athlete, now 86, who survived, just as he had survived World War II and the Holocaust when he was a child.
Take a harrowing journey with author Sebastian Junger and photographer Reza deep into Afghanistan for an in-depth interview with the assassinated resistance leader, Ahmed Shah Massoud. With never-before-seen footage, Afghanistan Revealed explores this war-torn country and the lives of its people as they continue their struggle against the Taliban.
In the shadow of the First World War, the genocide of the Christian Assyrians took place almost unnoticed by the world public. This first systematic genocide of the 20th century was committed by the Young Turks (Ottoman Empire) and would not have been possible without the support of some Kurdish local rulers and their family clans. The Assyrians are the indigenous people of Mesopotamia and have lived in Mesopotamia for thousands of years. The film includes testimony from several European, Turkish and Assyrian historians, as well as genocide researchers, including Professor Taner Akcam, Dr. Gabriele Yonan and Professor David Gaunt. The film includes testimony from survivors of the genocide. Various journalists and publicists also have their say with well-researched information in this documentary. The Assyrians refer to the Genocide as "Seyfo" (ܣܝܦܐ), which translates as "sword".
This documentary produced in 1973 is a remarkable document on traditional Islamic culture in Afghanistan before the country met with the disasters of ideological struggles and civil war. To a Muslim sensibility, its importance goes much further. It is an objective and respectful testimony to the profound, essential aspects of the spiritual culture of Islam, captured by a Western filmmaker.
