Hollywoodgate
The year after America’s departure from Afghanistan, Ibrahim Nash’at’s daring documentary surveys a world transformed.
Image courtesy of Curzon Film Distributors.
The title could well lead one to suppose that this documentary will be an exposé about the American movie industry, but in fact the inside story told in Ibrahim Nash’at’s film is one of a totally different kind. Hollywoodgate is, in fact, the name by which the former CIA base in Kabul was known and what we have here is a record of what happened there in the year following America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan on 31st August 2021. That Nash’at, an Egyptian journalist and filmmaker, was able to record it was surprising in itself, but he had already established contacts in that country and was able to obtain permission to film two members of the Taliban going about their duties. One of these was Malawi Mansour, the commander of the Air Force of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan, and the other a lieutenant, M.J. Mukhtar.
Both in the film’s opening scenes and as it draws to an end, the filmmaker provides a voice-over and readily acknowledges that, while his aim was to record what he saw, he was aware throughout that he was photographing what he was being allowed to photograph (on more than one occasion the screen suddenly goes black following a demand that he stops filming). Nevertheless, the impression we get is that this is a very authentic rendering of what was happening. There is no sign of individuals playing up to the camera and, if the fact that filming was allowed indicates that the Taliban were not hostile to Nash’at’s project, it also means that attitudes and behaviour representative of the militaristic nature of the regime is a regrettable source of pride to them. Indeed, Mukhtar at one point reveals that he would relish the opportunity to die in taking on the enemy thus achieving martyrdom.
Since the film of necessity opts to show rather than to question (no footage of either man being confronted by the filmmaker would have been allowed), Hollywoodgate simply reveals the facts – and that is quite enough to give it value. Since the Americans left behind so many aircraft and helicopters capable of being repaired and used again (what they abandoned is described as a treasure trove), the film clearly reveals their errors of judgment. Nor does the film attempt to conceal that both Mansour and Mukhtar lost relatives at the hands of the Americans, Mansour a father and Mukhtar a brother. But it's also the case that, regardless of any ironic details (Mansour’s inability at mathematics of even the simplest kind is apparent at one point), this is a telling portrayal of an insurgent militia transforming into a military regime.
Appropriately what we see unfolds in chronological order leading up to the 31st August 2022, the anniversary of what has been declared Independence Day and which is accompanied by a formal celebration at Bagram airfield, a chilling echo of other rallies by repressive rulers. What we see throughout is very much a male world despite the fact that those present in Hollywoodgate do not entirely exclude women. A few overheard references and a number of TV images touch on the position of women under the Taliban but this major issue is essentially outside the scope of this documentary. Even so, there is a scene in which to add to his sense of his own standing Mansour refers to the fact that he married a qualified doctor but quickly adds that after marriage he insisted that she stopped practising her profession.
Not having a wider scope does make Hollywoodgate a limited work, but the film provides a valuable insight into a corner of history and it was a brave venture that Nash’at undertook in filming it (early on we hear remarks about the filming process made by Talibs who, reassuring themselves that it is authorised, state that if he puts a foot wrong those in authority will certainly kill him). What can be said with confidence is that anyone whose curiosity is triggered by this film’s subject matter will find it a very able work. Nash’at himself when speaking at the close acknowledges that his endeavour was not one that could represent the daily suffering of the Afghan people. Instead, he sees Hollywoodgate as evidence of the obscene power of those who worship the exercise of it and in the process cause pain that will be felt for generations.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Malawi Mansour, M.J. Mukhtar.
Dir Ibrahim Nash’at, Pro Shane Boris, Talal Derki and Odessa Rae, Screenplay Ibrahim Nash’at, Shane Boris and Talal Derki, Ph Ibrahim Nash’at, Ed Atanas Georgiev and Marion Tuor, Music Volker Bertelmann, Dialect coach Kohli Calhoun.
Rolling Narratives/Jouzour Film Productions/Cottage M/RaeFilm Studios-Curzon Film Distributors.
92 mins. USA/Germany. 2023. US Rel: 19 July 2024. UK Rel: 16 August 2024. Cert. 12A.
