Nelofer Pazira, the star of the movie "Kandahar",
returns to her native Afghanistan. In the hope of tracking down her childhood
friend Dyana
-- whose story inspired the feature film -- Nelofer travels to the city of
Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif. Landing in Kabul, after 13 years,
Nelofer unravels her past and the unfolding of history in her country while
searching
for Dyana.
Dyana and Nelofer became friends in Kabul in the 1980s, living in the same neighbourhood and attending the same school. Sharing dreams of an independent personal and political life, they wanted to go to university and become doctors. Nelofer's family left Afghanistan in 1989; Dyana's continued to live in Afghanistan. They stayed in touch by letter, sending messages with refugee families. Dyana worked as an accountant in Kabul before the Taliban banned all women from work. Eventually, she became deeply depressed and wanted to commit suicide, a decision she communicated to Nelofer by letter in March of '98. Nelofer's subsequent attempt to enter Afghanistan in the hope of saving her friend failed. A year later, Nelofer learned from her uncle that Dyana was alive. However, they lost contact because Dyana's family moved to the city of Mazar-e-Sharif.
Nelofer's epic journey across a broken land smashed by war with the Russians, years of anarchy under the "Northern Alliance', the Taliban and now by America's "war on terror" turns the pages of history in her country. Nelofer's reflections on the current situation - and in dialogue with co-director Paul Jay, and the use of archival footage -- show an Afghanistan that stands in stark contrast to the present.
In Kabul, Nelofer visits the school where she studied and her own family home. The Kabul where Nelofer grew up as a child saw the disappearance of the moderate educated class. An entire generation of Afghans, many of whom believed in socialism and democracy, were suppressed by the pro-Russian communist regime and the traditional religious Mujahadeen groups. They were imprisoned, tortured and forced to flee the country. Nelofer watched the imprisonment of her father, an experience that shaped her politics as a teenager. Her return revives past memories.
In Kandahar, Nelofer visits the graveyard of 'Al-Qaida' fighters, which is revered by locals and visited by hundreds of Afghans every day. She visits Kandahar's famous shrine. She meets with a former member of the Taliban Council to discuss why the Taliban have had such a base of support in Kandahar -- traditionally a place of culture, learning and music. Nelofer explores the roots of religious revivalism and cultural fanaticism.
Nelofer then travels to Mazar-e-Sharif where Dyana and family are reported to have moved. In a strange city, which Nelofer remembers from childhood spring holidays, she hopes to find her friend among thousands of misplaced families. Nelofer discovers an Afghanistan where local anarchy, 'warlordism', and occupation by foreign military forces in their "war on terror" shatter hopes for peace and stability. This new Afghanistan is a violated land, where a thousand Dyanas are lost in rubble, dust and memory.
In the shadow of past memories, Nelofer rediscovers her lost self. She has returned home.