Movies

HomeMoviesSearchTV SeriesBookmarksView Source
Massoud the Afghan

Massoud the Afghan

Genres

DocumentaryHistory

OverView

The friendship between Christophe de Ponfilly and Commander Massoud, a legendary figure of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invader, goes back to the filmmaker's first film, "A Valley Against an Empire", made in 1981. Fifteen years later, weakened, isolated, betrayed by many of his own, the "Lion of Panshir" has not surrendered to his new and implacable enemies, the Taliban. While preparing his next offensive, he evokes his commitment and his fights, and bears witness to a history in which he has been one of the main actors for twenty years. At the same time, the director questions the role and power of the media, as well as his own approach as a filmmaker. Commander Massoud was killed in an attack in September 2001.

Others

Budget

$--

Revenue

$--

Status

Released

Original Language

French

Runtime

89 mins

Rating

8/10

Release Date

30 September 1998

Country

France

Cast

Christophe de Ponfilly

Christophe de Ponfilly

Self / Interviewer / Narrator

Ahmad Shah Massoud

Ahmad Shah Massoud

Self

Merabuddine

Merabuddine

Self / Interpret

Similar Movies

8.0

The Forbidden Reel

March 2020 •English

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.

6.6

The Prince of Nothingwood

June 2017 •French

French documentarist Sonia Kronlund follows actor and director Salim Shaheen, an Afghan movie star who produced more than 110 low-budget movies in a country devastated by war.

0.0

Amir: An Afghan Refugee Musician's Life in Peshawar, Pakistan

January 1985 •English

Amir, shot during the height of the Afghan civil war in the 1980s, investigates and portrays the life of Afghan refugees living in and around the city of Peshawar in northern Pakistan through the experiences of the musician Amir. The aspirations of Afghan refugees are expressed through their political songs dealing with the civil war in Afghanistan, with exile, with Afghan nationalism and with the Islamic revolution. In highly charged and tragic circumstances, music can be used in very direct ways, both to promote solidarity and as an agent of catharsis.

6.9

Taxi to the Dark Side

January 2008 •English

An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.

6.0

Lions for Lambs

October 2007 •English

Three stories told simultaneously in ninety minutes of real time: a Republican Senator who's a presidential hopeful gives an hour-long interview to a skeptical television reporter, detailing a strategy for victory in Afghanistan; two special forces ambushed on an Afghani ridge await rescue as Taliban forces close in; a poli-sci professor at a California college invites a student to re-engage.

0.0

He Toki Huna: New Zealand in Afghanistan

August 2013 •English

Annie Goldson and Kay Ellmers’ doco, expanded from the film they made for Maori Television, takes a timely look at New Zealand’s military and media, notably journalist Jon Stephenson, in Afghanistan.

0.0

Outside the Wire: The Forgotten Children of Afghanistan

March 2011 •English

The mission: Capture US and NATO forces on camera giving food, water, clothing, blankets, and medical supplies to widows and orphans in refugee camps and villages of Afghanistan.

7.5

Bulletproof Salesman

March 2008 •English

Fidelis Cloer is a self-confessed war profiteer who found The Perfect War when the US invaded Iraq. It wasn't about selling a dozen cars, or even a hundred, it was a thousand-car war where security would become the ultimate product.

7.3

Restrepo

June 2010 •English

Directors Hetherington and Junger spend a year with the 2nd Battalion of the United States Army located in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous valleys. The documentary provides insight and empathy on how to win the battle through hard work, deadly gunfights and mutual friendships while the unit must push back the Taliban.

0.0

Voice of a Nation: My Journey Through Afghanistan

May 2013 •Pashto

Jawed Taiman takes a distinct look at Afghanistan and lets the Afghan people have their say. En route through the different provinces, through urban and rural regions, in discussion with intellectuals and simple folk, politicians and Taliban fighters a multifaceted picture emerges of a country that is often portrayed as incomprehensible.

7.7

Flee

June 2021 •Danish

Recounted mostly through animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his past as a child refugee from Afghanistan as he grapples with a secret he’s kept hidden for 20 years.

7.0

Armadillo

May 2010 •Danish

Danish soldiers are sent to Afghanistan in 2009 for 6 months, to help stabilize the country against the Taliban. They're stationed on Armadillo military base in Helman province. Unlike other war movies, this is the real deal – no actors.

0.0

Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujaheddin

January 2001 •English

Jung is a narrative documentary that follows the human and professional adventure of its protagonists, the Afghan people in the midst of civil war.

0.0

Operation Sámán

November 2025 •Hungarian

Based on the true story of Operation Shaman Shield, when Hungarian soldiers evacuated 540 people, including 180 children, from Afghanistan as NATO forces withdrew. Coming Fall 2025.

0.0

Unsurfed Afghanistan

September 2020 •English

Afri, a three-time World Surfing Games participant, has spent a lifetime searching for the world's best coastlines for surf, but never in his home country of Afghanistan. Filmed in three continents, this documentary follows Afridun's journey back to his home country with the help of some river surfers to find surfable waves and bring a drop of joy to the people there. The group battles with continual challenges on their 10-day journey from raging whitewater to culture clash. Their inspiring mission uncovers a long lost mystical side of a country battling with conflict through breathtaking landscapes and the desire to discover something new.

0.0

Caravan

April 2024 •English

The four Afghan refugees who have applied for asylum in Austria strike up the song, “The caravan moves on” again and again. Encouraged by the journalist Lucy Ashton to record their lives on their smartphone cameras as a video diary, the friends film their precarious daily routine between visits to authorities, small jobs, and changing accommodations. Yet even when hope is lost, one certainty remains: the power of friendship.

5.9

High Road to China

March 1983 •English

A biplane pilot is saddled with a spoiled industrialist's daughter on a search for her missing father through Asia that eventually involves them in a struggle against a Chinese warlord.

0.0

The Billion Pound Base: Dismantling Camp Bastion

December 2014 •English

Documentary that follows the men and women whose job it was to pack up Britain's Camp Bastion base in Afghanistan.

0.0

Afghanistan : vivre en pays taliban

January 2021 •French

By immersing themselves in a Taliban village, and after gaining very rare access to major institutions, the directors shed a disturbing light on today's Taliban society, and on the workings of this ultra-conservative parallel state. whose leaders have just symbolically moved into the presidential palace, to assert a stranglehold that foreshadows the Afghanistan of tomorrow.

8.0

Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi

March 2010 •English

In 2007, the Taliban kidnapped 24-year-old Ajmal Naqshbandi and an Italian journalist. Naqshbandi was one of Afghanistan's best "fixers" -- someone hired by foreign journalists to facilitate, translate, and gain access for their stories.