In the shadow of war

In the Shadow of War is a unique documentary that takes us back in history to the time of the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s. In retrospect, the film shows how in the face of death and destruction, it is tradition and religion that prevail. For people trying to understand the Afghan wars, In the Shadow of War is a must see.

A year later, after the film’s release,  the filmmakers returned to Afghanistan and went into the border territory with Pakistan. They made a ‘sequel’ called The Return, showing how the Afghan war had evolved into a huge refugee crisis that would later sprawl the Taliban.

Logline:
Developments around the second marriage of Agha Mohammed, a man from the village of Kowri in Afghanistan during the times of the Russian War (1979-1989), show the changes surrounding dowry. The inhabitants oppose the imposed reduction of the dowry by the resistance.

Synopsis:
Afghanistan (1988), a country at war. The Afghan people are fighting Russian intervention. The war does not just cast its shadow on the economy, health care and education, but also on all kinds of traditional values and norms which have come under pressure through the war and the presence of resistance.

This became clear from the developments surrounding the dowry. In his documentary In the Shadow of the War Joost Verhey illustrates all this strikingly based on events around the second wedding of Agha Mohammed. A man from the village of Kowri. As preparations for the wedding take their course, Agha’s first wife Gwar Bibi explains how she reacts to the coming of the second wife. It was only because he (Joost Verhey) had two women in the film crew that he was able to register this gripping story. We are allowed a glimpse behind the veil of how men and women interact in Islamic society. In addition to this unique footage, In the Shadow of War shows us several other singular scenes from a changing Afghan society. This documentary sketches an impelling picture of a village at war.

Cast:
N/A

Crew:
scenario, production & direction: Joost Verhey
camera: Erika Stevenson
sound/stills: Bart Eijgenhuijsen
sound/translator: Sylvie Heslot
editing: Ton de Graaff
sound post-production: NOB/JPS Studio’s
laboratory: Cineco
line producer: René Scholten