Allies Welcome
On August 15th, 2021, the Taliban captured Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, following the withdrawal of the US troops after a 20-years long war. That was the day the lives of Fatima Faizi, Hamed Ahmedi, and Yasser Arwand changed irreparably.
This film follows the journey of Fatima, Hamed, and Yasser, as they resettle in the United States and try to create a new home for themselves, whilst fearing for the safety of their family and friends back home.
This film captures the mental turmoil that comes from a lack of permanence abroad and a fractured homeland you can’t return to.
Screens live on friday, Dec. 9
Q&A with filmmakers to follow
Filmmakers
Shakeeb Asrar
Tavleen Tarrant
Shakeeb Asrar is a multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker. He was previously with Al Jazeera English in Doha, Qatar and USA Today in Washington, D.C, and has also received reporting grants from the Pulitzer Center and South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA). Shakeeb holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He is passionate about covering stories from the global South, particularly South Asia, with a focus on human rights, migration, and social justice.
Email: Shakeeb.asrar@columbia.edu
Tavleen Tarrant is a freelance journalist who writes about gender, the global economy, global migration, labor rights, politics, and everything in between. Tavleen is passionate about feminism, politics, social justice and activism, international political economy, screenwriting, and documentaries. She has lived in eight cities in six countries (Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, France, Australia, and the United States). She holds a Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences in International Relations with first-class honors from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and International Relations from the University of Queensland.
Email: tat2157@columbia.edu
