Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim Nash’at’s gripping documentary, Hollywoodgate, has been shortlisted for the 97th Academy Awards in the Documentary Feature Film category. Among 169 submissions, it secured a spot as one of the 15 contenders for this year’s Oscars, set to take place on Mar. 3.
Hollywoodgate is an exploration of the seismic aftermath of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, marking the end of a two-decade-long war. The documentary explores the Taliban’s rapid resurgence and their seizure of power. “With only my camera, I came to see in whose hands this country was left,” Nash’at states in the film’s trailer, encapsulating his journey into the heart of a nation in flux.
Based in Berlin, Nash’at has made a name for himself as a journalist, collaborating with media heavyweights like Deutsche Welle, Al Jazeera, and Business Insider. Hollywoodgate marks his first foray into feature filmmaking, premiering to acclaim at both the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in 2023.
Set in August 2021, the film chronicles the Taliban’s dramatic takeover of Kabul, including their occupation of a U.S. military base nicknamed Hollywoodgate. The base, abandoned amid the withdrawal, was brimming with military equipment valued at over $7 billion, a cache that enabled the Taliban’s transformation from insurgents to a functioning military regime.
Through a raw and unfiltered lens, Hollywoodgate exposes the duality of this transition. On one hand, it reveals how the Taliban utilized abandoned weapons and technology to solidify their grip on power. On the other, it captures the haunting devastation left behind in Afghanistan. Critics have praised Nash’at’s vérité-style approach, with his use of natural light, handheld cameras, and ambient sound creating a visceral sense of immersion.
Over the course of a year, Nash’at embedded himself with the Taliban, documenting their operations from an unprecedented vantage point. He followed figures like a high-ranking commander, the head of the Taliban air forces, and ground soldiers stationed at the Kabul airbase. Through this access, the documentary unpacks the story of U.S. military equipment left behind, now repurposed by the very group the U.S. had sought to dismantle.
Hollywoodgate is a critique of U.S. foreign policy and the broader implications of military interventions. Nash’at raises questions about the human cost of war and the ethics of a superpower leaving behind chaos in its wake.
In a particularly reflective moment, Nash’at appears on screen filming himself in a mirror, blurring the line between filmmaker and observer.
Hollywoodgate is shortlisted alongside 14 other documentary films, including The Bibi Files, an inside look into the corruption charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu through leaked police interrogation videos; No Other Land, an essential look at life under Israeli Occupation; Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, an examination of the politics behind the 1961 assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba; and The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, a heartfelt ode to a Norweigan gamer with a degenerative disease who died in 2014 aged 25.
The next step is for Academy members to vote again to determine the final nominees for each category, which will be unveiled during the official Oscar nominations announcement. Following this, Academy members cast another round of votes to select the winners, who are ultimately revealed and awarded at the 97th Academy Award ceremony.
