by Ibrahim Nash'at
As the Americans begin their withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Taliban take over one of their CIA bases. The infrastructure of containers bears the name "Hollywood Gate" and is filled with weapons of war with which the Taliban equip a new combat unit. Over the course of a year, filmmaker Ibrahim Nash'at follows the development of "Hollywood Gate" and provides an authentic glimpse into the Taliban's rapid rise to power. He shows their control center from the inside and highlights how they turn from an extremist militia into a powerful military regime. The German-American co-production manages to cleverly expose the power and propaganda games of the Taliban leaders. Both fascinating and irritating, this is a documentary that leaves behind an indelible impression.
Ibrahim Nash'at is an Egyptian documentary filmmaker based in Berlin, Germany. His career in journalism spans various formats, working with several international channels and online platforms such as Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, Business Insider, AJ+, Voice of America and others. Ibrahim holds a master degree in documentary filmmaking from Met Film School. He co-edited Academy Award nominated director Talal Derki's latest film UNDER THE SKY OF DAMASCUS Which premiered at Panorama - Berlinale 2023 and won the Golden Alexander at 25th Thessaloniki Doc Festival. Ibrahim has directed multiple short films which were selected in multiple film festivals around the world. HOLLYWOODGATE is Ibrahim's first feature film which premiered at Venice Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. 2023 HOLLYWOODGATE