Dear Friends,

Amidst the anomalies and chaos of our world, the true picture of Afghanistan often remains unseen. Once again, the people of Afghanistan are forgotten—people crushed under the boots of the Taliban, suffering under the tyranny of ethno-religious fascism. The world fails to hear the desperate calls of women and men striving for the most basic human rights and freedom against the terrorist group, the Taliban.

In these challenging times, the creation of a “Save Afghanistan” section within the Imagineindia International Film Festival in Madrid stands as a commendable and necessary initiative. This section showcases a selection of films that present shocking images of the realities of Afghanistan, both past and present. By bringing these stories to the world stage, we aim to foster greater understanding and solidarity with Afghanistan during these difficult times.

I am profoundly grateful to the organizers of the Imagineindia International Film Festival, especially my friend Mr. Qazi Abdur Rahim, for their profound and compassionate attention.

Sincerely,

Siddiq Barmak

Films selected for Imagineindia 2026

Champions of the Golden Valley (Ben Sturgulewsky) USA

Films selected for Imagineindia 2025

Still a Long Road (Nikhil Shinde) India

Films selected for Imagineindia 2024

Osama (Siddiq Barmak) Afghanistan

Hizia (Chabname Zariab) France

Keeping the Music Alive (Sarah El Younsi, Mandakini Gahlot) France, Singapore

The List (Hana Makhmalbaf) Iran

Talking with Rivers (Mohsen Makhmalbaf) Iran

Films Selected for Imagineindia 2023

Roots in the Wind (Soraya Akhlaqi) Afghanistan

And Still I Sing (Fazila Amiri) Canada

Laughing in Afghanistan (Anneta Papathanassiou) Greece

Go, Friend, Go (Gabriele Licchelli, Francesco Lorusso, Andrea Settembrini) Italy

RETROSPECTIVE OF ZAINAB ENTEZAR

• The Last Torch
• Maryam
• Bycicle
• House
• Mosque is for Rent
• Lack

Films Selected for Imagineindia 2022

My Childhood My Country (Phil Grabsky, Shoaib Sharifi) Great Britain

From Door to Door (Rohit Khaitan) India

Stateless (Mustafa Aydin) Turkey

NETPAC AFGHAN FILMS DAYS

Dear Friends,

 We hope this email finds you healthy and well.

 We are writing you this urgent letter as all the foreign forces have left Afghanistan and meanwhile, the Taliban is re-occupying all parts of Afghanistan within a very short period of time. Unfortunately, the Taliban cruelly kills people and above all, the artists and journalists. The international governments have just prioritised to save the lives of their local translators and their families, however, no one cares about the Afghan independent filmmakers who already made critical films against the Taliban during all these past years. We do believe these filmmakers’ lives are in serious danger and the world film community should take an immediate action to save them.

 The obvious and terrifying fact is that the extremist Taliban recently took control of many districts and they firstly target the local media, torturing and killing the media people and artists brutally.

 The time is very short and we hope, we could, through your assistance, help these filmmakers and take them out of Afghanistan immediately, before it’s too late. They need to take political asylum and we are aware of the long bureaucratic  procedure of such requests, however, invitations to arrange their entry visas are the easiest and best solution in this phase. Please kindly do consider this as an urgent matter and try to assist these filmmakers the soonest.

 We thank you very much for your kind attention and look forward to hearing from you.

 With respect and friendship,

SIDDIQ BARMAK / MOHSEN MAKHMALBAF

Colorless (Hamid Mandgar) Afghanistan

Here is Afghanistan (Khadim Hussain Byhnam) Afghanistan

Life Among War Flags (Mohsen Eslamzadeh) Iran

7 Veils (Sepideh Farsi)  France

Mullah,s Daughter (Hassan Solhjoo, Mahdieh Sadat)  Great Britain