Directed by: Paul Refsdal
Producer: Kjetil Johnsen
Production company: Novemberfilm, Norwegian Film Institute
Cinematography: Paul Refsdal
Editing: Svein Olav Sandem

Format: video
Running time: 27'

Synopsis
Though they would eventually kidnap him, the Taliban granted journalist Paul Refsdal unprecedented access. This exclusive documentary shows us a side of the Taliban we have never seen before. Today, the Taliban seem to survive mainly on conviction: ‘We belong to God and fear no-one’. From their mountain hideout, they ambush the daily American convoys, descending into joyous shouts of ‘Allah Akhbar’, when a truck is hit. But a hit on target is rare. And the Americans' response is swift and deadly: a US gunship kills Commander Dawran's second-in command, and Refsdal is told to flee and to return in a month. Dawran escapes unharmed, but his two children are killed. At first, the men are suspicious of the 'tall white man' amongst them. The tension is high as wary eyes dart constantly towards the camera and the crackle of gunfire echoes across the mountain stronghold. Yet gradually the men start to relax, they remove their masks.

Awards and Festivals
The Rory Peck Award Finalist

Directors Biography
Paul Refsdal is an independent Norwegian journalist who has spent the last 26 years covering some of the world’s toughest conflicts from the side of the opposition. He started his ballsy freelance career in 1984 when, at the tender age of 20, he went to Afghanistan to hang out with the Mujaheddin. In 1985 he went to Burma with the Karen rebels, he spent 1986 in Sri Lanka with the LTTE before heading to Nicaragua with the Sandinista forces, and the 90s saw him in Peru with the Shining Path and Kosovo with the KLA, among other really scary adventures. Most recently he embedded with the Taliban and then got kidnapped. Paul has made his debut documentary film about that experience called 'Taliban: Behind the Masks'.

Location and screening schedule:
TUÅ KANAC CINEMA, Monday, October 17th at 16.30
DOKUCINEMA CROATIA, Monday, October 17th at 21.00
EUROPA CINEMA, Wednesday, October 19th at 9.00