Not since the fall of Saigon has a U.S. evacuation proven so devastating and controversial as the one that ended U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. The documentary Hollywoodgate picks up where the rest of the world left off, in the immediate aftermath of the United States’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021. Days after the last U.S. plane leaves Afghan soil, the Taliban—now in control of the country—enter an American base in Kabul called Hollywood Gate, reputed to have been a secret CIA station. There they find a portion of the more than $7 billion in sophisticated American weaponry left in the country: numerous small arms and munitions, jet fighters, Black Hawk helicopters, and other military equipment. Much of it is damaged, but the base is also equipped with many of the parts needed to fix it. 

Director Ibrahim Nash’at’s unprecedented and audacious Hollywoodgate bears witness as the new head of Afghanistan’s air force, Mawlawi Mansour—a Taliban whose father was killed by the Americans—orders his soldiers to inventory everything and repair all they can. The men go to work restoring the weaponry and training themselves to use it. Among them is Mukhtar—a former Taliban fighter now aiming to build a high-ranking military career—who dreams of avenging the war.

Following the screening of Hollywoodgate, we’ll have a Q&A with director Ibrahim Nash’at and producer Shane Boris.

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