London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

"I Was Lucky," Says Afghan Filmmaker On Fleeing Kabul

"I Was Lucky," Says Afghan Filmmaker On Fleeing Kabul

Filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat said it took 72 hours from her leaving her apartment to reaching French troops at Kabul airport, where she spent a night at their compound before flying to Abu Dhabi.
Hours before the Taliban took control of Kabul, filmmaker Shahrbanoo Sadat received an offer to leave Afghanistan. She declined, as it would mean leaving family members behind.

The next day she went to the bank.

"(Suddenly) we saw Taliban cars with white flags ... and ... we're running," Sadat told Reuters in an interview. "And that was for me like a moment of a movie that couldn't be real because I was in the middle of Kabul."

Accompanied by nine family members, Sadat, whose first feature film "Wolf and Sheep" won the main prize at Cannes festival Directors' Fortnight section in 2016, eventually headed for Kabul airport. They arrived in Paris earlier this week.

"I was lucky but this is not the situation for many people," she said, referring to the crowds stranded at the airport. "They do not speak English, they are not a filmmaker, they don't have any international friends and their life is in danger."

Sadat said it took 72 hours from her leaving her apartment to reaching French troops at Kabul airport, where she spent a night at their compound before flying to Abu Dhabi.

She described chaotic scenes while queuing outside the airport.

"(The Taliban) wanted to (make people queue) which was impossible because the crowd was pushing from all directions and Taliban were walking with cables and with guns and with even with (an) RPG," she said.

"Children were crying and the old people were fainting ... because it was so hot."

Overwhelmed by the heat and slow pace, Sadat said she nearly gave up queuing but was encouraged to keep going by her sister.

Sadat said she saw men, including her father, singled out amid rumours of attacks.

"(A Taliban member) wanted to take him out and I threw myself on my father and he hit me with the cable that he had on my back ... they were so aggressive with men but they didn't really touch the women," she said. "He let us go."

Kabul airport has been thronged with Afghans trying to board evacuation flights following the Taliban's takeover, fearing reprisals and a return to a harsh version of Islamic law the group practised when it was last in power.

Dozens were killed in an Islamic State suicide attack.

The Taliban has sought to assure the crowds at Kabul airport that they have nothing to fear and should go home.

Sadat, who was born in Iran and moved to Afghanistan in December 2001, was working on a romantic comedy before fleeing.

"I have all kind of mixed feelings ... I don't understand all this. Everything was so sudden and so quick," Sadat, whose films depict ordinary life, said.

"I want to continue making films but perhaps my point of view is changed ... The political thing displaced me so I cannot ignore it anymore because I am hurt by that."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×