Social & World Affairs

My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years in Afghanistan

PLAY


An epic coming-of-age story that follows a young boy by the name of Mir as he grows up over the course of 20 years of war in Afghanistan.

In 2014 director Richard Linklater released the Oscar-winning Boyhood – his fictional saga of growing up, filmed with the same cast across twelve years. Now award-winning filmmakers Phil Grabsky and Shoaib Sharifi release a real-life epic of boyhood and manhood – filmed across twenty years in one of the most embattled corners of the globe: the feature documentary MY CHILDHOOD, MY COUNTRY – 20 YEARS IN AFGHANISTAN.

"Look at the American planes!" shouts Mir, a mischievous boy of eight. Mir lived through 9/11 when his homeland became ground zero in the so-called war on terror. Growing up over the following 20 years, his life is marked by adventure, hardship and surprise. Mir and his family form a portrait of embattled Afghanistan that no other film has ever captured.

Now aged 27 and living in Kabul, his dramatic story offers a remarkable insight into what life has really been like for Afghans since NATO and the US invaded in 2001 right up their withdrawal in 2021. After more than a trillion dollars spent by 40 countries, and countless lives lost, was the cost worth it – for Mir and the world?

Screeners

Programme Details

DURATION
1 x 90' / 2 x 60' / 1 x 60'
ORIGINAL BROADCASTER
ARTE-01-01 wdr svt 2
OTHER BROADCASTERS
ITV
CBC Canada
Disney+ Latam
SBS Australia
Al Jazeera
AVAILABLE IN
HD
ORIGINAL LANGUAGE
Dari
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES
English