In the audacious documentary Hollywoodgate, Egyptian filmmaker and journalist Ibrahim Nash’at takes us deep into the heart of Taliban controlled Afghanistan, offering an unprecedented look at the regime’s first year back in power after the US withdrawal in 2021. Nash’at leverages his experience filming world leaders and his understanding of radical ideologies to secure remarkable access to inner workings of the Taliban.Central to this gripping documentary are two protagonists — the newly assigned Air Force commander Mawlawi Mansour, and the ambitious Mukhtar, a former Taliban fighter eyeing a rise through the ranks. With Nash’at as a dispassionate observer, we witness their ambitious endeavors to revitalise the military might of the regime using equipment left behind by the US forces in the abandoned base named Hollywoodgate. While the Taliban leaders appear (unwittingly) to be clueless bumblers through much of the film, the documentary’s last part reveals a different picture: a chilling military parade with global powers in attendance that marks the one-year anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal, and a terrifying, deliberate threat voiced by Mansour towards Tajikistan. It is a stark reminder that the Taliban’s aspirations reach far beyond the borders of Afghanistan.What stands out is Nash’at’s almost invisible style of filming and editing, in which he lets longer scenes unfold unedited, occasionally catching his reflection in mirrors, a nod to the potential influence of his presence on the subjects. This technique offers viewers a raw and unfiltered perspective, drawing them into the heart of the evolving narrative where a new generation of Taliban skillfully employ media as a propaganda tool.As the documentary plays out, with an uneasy blend of euphoria and impending dread, it presents a disturbing picture of a group not content with just ruling Afghanistan, but with wider, perhaps global ambitions. Hollywoodgate promises a harrowing and thought- provoking insight into a regime attempting to transition from guerrilla fighters to a full-fledged military entity, raising uneasy questions about the Taliban’s renewed position on the world stage.Nicole Guillemet