771 Days

Zainab Entezar / Afghanistan / 2026 / Czech Premiere / 70 min.

synopsis

“Mum’s back from the protests and she’s alive!” A young son greets his mother, who has become an activist in Afghanistan under the ruthless, reactionary rule of the Taliban. The shops, cafés and playgrounds she used to visit are closed. Universities are not operating, and social life for women is non-existent. Despite the ever-present risk and threat of death, Zainab joins other women in street protests to help topple the fundamentalist regime. 771 days under the Taliban rule begins and ends with a perilous escape with the most precious things the director and mother possesses – her son, a laptop, and a hard drive containing footage from this strictly guarded country.

“The Taliban have spilled out onto the streets of our cities – Kabul, Herat, Mazar-i-Sharif, Farah. They have flooded our cities. They have flooded our streets, our homes, our dreams. The Taliban.”

biography

Zainab Entezar (1994) is an Afghan director, producer and writer whose work focuses on Afghan women’s struggle for equality. Her career began with the short film Maryam in 2014. Her films – including the docudrama Shot the Voice of Freedom (2024) – have won numerous awards (IDFA, Locarno Film Festival). She is also the author of several novels.