HOLLYWOODGATE
by Ibrahim Nash’at
SYNOPSIS
When the United States withdrew from its twenty-year “forever war” in Afghanistan, the Taliban retook control of the ravaged country and immediately found an American base loaded with weaponry—a portion of the over $7 billion in U.S. armaments still in the country. Unprecedented and audacious, director Ibrahim Nash’at’s HOLLYWOODGATE spends a year inside Afghanistan following the Taliban as they take possession of the cache America left behind—and transform from a fundamentalist militia into a heavily armed military regime.
DETAILS
91 mins
2023
Germany, USA
Pashto, Dari, English
CLIP
CREDITS
Produced by Rolling Narratives in association with Jouzour Film Production, Cottage M, Raefilm Studios
Directed by Ibrahim Nash’at
Produced by Talal Derki, Odessa Rae, Shane Boris
Co-produced by Ibrahim Nash’at
Edited by Atanas Georgiev, Marion Tuor
Executive Producers: Mehmet Elbanna, Sahraa Karimi, Diane Becker, Katherine Embiricos, Jim Swartz, Susan Swartz, Melony Lewis, Adam Lewis
Music by Volker Bertelmann
Sound Design by Frank Kruse
Co-Executive Producers:
Geralyn White Dreyfous, Poppy Jaimie, Heba Khaled, Steven Cohen, Paula Froehle, Hussain Currimbhoy
Written by Ibrahim Nash’at, Talal Derki, Shane Boris
Director of Photography: Ibrahim Nash’at
Production Sound: Ibrahim Nash’at
BIOGRAPHY
DIRECTOR - IBRAHIM NASH'AT
Ibrahim Nash’at (born June 17, 1990 in Jeddah) 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’s 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 A MOMENT WITH THE WIND, HOME AWAY FROM HOME and BERLIN'S DIVERSITY, short films that were selected for multiple film festivals around the world. HOLLYWOODGATE is Ibrahim’s first feature film.
SELECT FESTIVALS
IDA Documentary Awards 2024 - Shortlisted for Best Feature
Cinema Eye Honors 2025 - Nominee Debut Feature and Production
VENICE 2023〡TELLURIDE 2023〡IDFA 2023〡ZURICH FF 2023 - FOCUS COMPETITION AWARD〡POFF TALLINN 2023〡EL GOUNA FF 2023 – GOLDEN STAR BEST DOCUMENTARY〡ADELAIDE FF 2023 - BEST DOCUMENTARY〡CPH:DOX 2024〡FULL FRAME 2024 - GRAND JURY AWARD 〡THESSALONIKI 2024〡HONG KONG FF 2024〡SHEFFIELD DOCFEST 2024〡ENCOUNTERS 2024〡MILLENIUM DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY 2024〡BELDOCS 2024〡DOKUFEST 2024〡NEW ZEALAND FF 2024 - BEST DOCUMENTARY
PRESS
"An extraordinary, chilling glimpse into the void that is Taliban rule. At hair-raising personal peril, director Ibrahim Nash'at gains access to high-ranking Taliban insiders to deliver a terrifying eyewitness account of the takeover of a former US military base in Kabul"
- Variety
“This is what access journalism should be. And what access. "
- Indiewire
"’Hollywoodgate throws us in the deep end and compels us to swim."
- Rollingstone